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Lowering drinking age topic short notes seminar
The problem of underage drinking
The problem of underage drinking
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Comparing Two Articles on Teen Binge Drinking
The article How to Manage Teen Drinking (the smart way), written by Jeffery Kluger and the article Getting Stupid, written by Bernie Wuethrich are both articles about teenage binge drinking. The two articles are very similar and different at the same time, while together rhetorically appealing to the logos. Combined they give a good background on teenage binge drinking.
Both articles have many similarities; both agree that binge drinking is a problem among adolescents across the country. Binge drinking is defined by both articles as, “five or more drinks in a row for boys and four or more drinks in a row for girls” (Wuethrich, p.58-59). Both articles agree that one major problem of binge drinking in adolescents is that, “Kids who drink before age 15 face a fivefold risk of alcohol dependency” (Kluger, p.42). This is harmful because alcohol alters the clarity of thinking and learning of people.
Getting Stupid focuses on the mental health affects of alcohol on the teenage brain. Adolescent drinkers are more inclined to damage their brain than adult drinkers. This is because structures in the brain such as the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning and memory, and the prefrontal cortex, “which is the brains chief decision maker and voice of reason” (Wuethrich, p.59) are making a lot of adjustments during the teen years. As a result the brain does not fully develop. This has been proven by a study done with rats, conducted by Scott Swartzwelder at Duke University. The study found that the equivalent of only two beers, for adolescent rats is needed to loose memory, while the equivalent of four beers is needed to loose memory in adult ra...
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...laining why having a lower drinking age would be safer for teens. The reader understands the conclusion by following his simple scenario. Both authors do a fine job of appealing to the readers.
The two articles are very similar and different at the same time. Both articles appeal to the reader through the logos, and both agree that teenage binge drinking is not healthy. The difference is that Getting Stupid deals with mental health affects of binge drinking and How to Manage Teen Drinking focuses on ways to cut down teen binge drinking. The two articles combined give a good background on teenage binge drinking.
Sources Cited
Kluger, Jeffrey. "How To Manage Teen Drinking (The Smart Way)" TIME Magazine, Monday, June 18, 2001
Available: http://www.socialnorms.org/PressRoom/time.php
Wuethrich, Bernice. "Getting Stupid," Discover 22 no. 3 (March 2001)
The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, shows the adverse consequences caused by adultery between Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne. Dimmesdale and Hester committed the supreme sin of the Puritan society they belong. They must both deal with the effects of the scarlet letter. Pearl, the daughter of the two lovers, continuously punishes Hester for what she has done. Dimmesdale can only see Hester and Pearl when others will not find out or see. Hester finds a way to support herself and daughter, and at the same time, puts a mark on the possessions of some who are a part of society. The sin of adultery created repercussions that were shared and individually experienced by Reverend Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne.
Zeigler, Donald. "The neurocognitive effects of alcohol on adolescents and college students." Preventive Medicine 40. (2004): 23 – 32. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .
On the first read-through of Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est it seems to just be a poem describing a soldiers experience in World War I, but there is much more to the story than that. Through the use of several literary techniques, Owen is able to vividly describe the speaker’s experiences and at the same time make them relatable to the people reading the poem. He also is able to criticize the people who he thinks are at least partly responsible for “tricking” a younger, more gullible him into the situation in the first place.
According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not mature enough to handle it, lowering the drinking age actually teaches responsibility and safety in young adults, maintains consistency in age laws, and diminishes temptation.
The book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell is about the moment when a product, behavior, or idea spreads throughout the world. In writing this, Malcolm Gladwell was trying to help people understand how something can go from not being popular to being the latest fad, how crime rates in New York suddenly dropped lower than ever in the 1990s, and why William Dawes wasn’t nearly as successful as Paul Revere. Teaching people how the tipping point is achieved was the primary message of The Tipping Point.
were drinking to get drunk than their counterparts a decade earlier, and one recent study reported an increase, just since 1994, in the number of students who drink deliberately to get drunk? (Smith 1). I interviewed my friend Shelly Mitchell who recently turned twenty-one and asked her how she felt about finally being legal to drink. She quoted, ?It is not as exciting to drink anymore, I mean I still like to go out with my friends to bars, but the fun is all over, in high school and college it was so exciting trying to get alcohol by using a fake ID.? All of these factors could be changed by lowering the drinking age to eighteen. In a study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, binge drinking is defined as five drinks in a row for boys and four drinks for girls. And when they did a survey they found that 44% of the students attending Harvard binge drink (Jeffrey Kluger 1).
Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth. “Seeking a Drinking Age Debate.” University Business 11.10 (2008): 53-4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.
The article "Alcohol Abuse is a Serious Problem for Teenagers," was written by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The article states, "Nearly four million young people suffer from alcohol dependence," and the average age at which children begin to drink is as early as 13. The article goes on to say that the number of children who experiment with alcohol has been rising steadily over the years. The article points out the unfortunate effects of drinking which range from an array of physical illnesses like liver problems and cancer. From the article we learn that because teenagers tend to indulge in binge drinking, they are at higher risk to suffer the consequences of alcohol consumption. According to the article these consequences include developmental problems like lack of growth, a reduced ability to learn, and to psychological problems like depression and suicidal tendencies. Alcohol abuse in turn leads to social problems which include dropping out of school, robbery, and "risky sexual behavior." We learn that alcohol serves as a "gateway-drug," leading to more addictive drugs like cocaine. The article substantiates this claim by citing a study conducted by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. The article also touches on the problem of alcohol used by parents though the primary focus of this piece is about teenage drinking. The purpose of the article is to jolt readers into an awareness of the magnitude of the problem of teenage drinkiing. Most people know that teenagers like to experiment, try the new and forbidden, but the Center assumes that no one is fully aware of how serious this problem can be if it is not addressed.
Wechsler, Henry, and Toben F. Nelson. "Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?." American Journal of Public Health 100.6 (2010): 986-992. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Mar. 2011.
“According to the U.S Surgeon General, about 5,000 kids under 21 die every year as a result of underage drinking—from crashes, homicides, and suicides” (Bellenir 65). Reducing underage drinking can reduce drinking-related harm, and even though there are programs in place to help prevent these suicides, alcoholism continues to ruin the lives of underage drinkers. Alcoholics in general are walking billboards to major companies that advertise their products—especially underage drinkers that in the process make these companies wealthier. Alcohol abuse gives a false sense of security, self confidence, and maturity to underage drinkers that later commit crimes, violence, and are victims of homicides. Underage drinkers not being able to get back on their feet after falling in so deep into alcoholism, eventually hit rock bottom and wake up to a world they no longer belong to. Underage drinkers realizing that the turning point is far from close commit suicide.
According to brighteyecounselling.com (2014), “Prolonged Drinking leads to instability of emotions, depression is the most common effect of long-term alcohol use. Alcohol is a powerful nervous system depressant, that is why it is so relaxing”. This is showing that binge drinking is not fixing the emotional problems that teens may be facing but they are making them worse, which is currently not being taught by schools, because they have not been through the experience themselves and therefore their teaching methods would be ineffective
The poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen portrays the horrors of World War I with the horrific imagery and the startling use of words he uses. He describes his experience of a gas attack where he lost a member of his squadron and the lasting impact it had on him. He describes how terrible the conditions were for the soldiers and just how bad it was. By doing this he is trying to help stop other soldiers from experiencing what happened in a shortage of time.
To graduate school, I will bring a strong grasp of fundamentals in Electrical, Electronics and Computers, an aptitude for teaching and teamwork, a zest for challenges and an enthusiastic desire to learn all I can. I feel that graduate study at your University will be the most logical extension of my academic pursuits and a major step towards achieving my objectives. I would be grateful to you if I am accorded the opportunity to pursue my graduate studies with possible financial assistance at your institution and am able to justify your faith in me.
As a result of underage drinking, 5,000 adolescents under the age of 21 die annually due to intoxication (taking motor vehicle crashes, homicides, suicides, and other injuries while intoxicated into consideration) (paragraph 2). Later in life, underage drinkers are more likely to develop alcoholism, poor performance in school, and risky sexual behavior (paragraph 43). Although this research is not opposed to my argument, there is an importance to acknowledging it as proof of dangerous, underage drinking occurring significantly regardless of whether it is illegal. More importantly, this research stems from adolescents drinking without the supervision of adults and in uncontrolled quantities. Since adolescents must wait a long period of time to drink legally, I believe they fear they must take advantage of drinking opportunities by excess drinking and risk of safety due to their restriction to alcohol. Based on this mindset, I believe exposure to alcohol at a younger age in controlled environments would not only decrease underage drinking in large quantities, but injury and death related to intoxication, as
I sincerely hope that my admission at your institute will be considered in all possibility which will be great success towards objective of my