WRT 104 Project 2 Persuasive Essay on Lowering Drinking Age PDF

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Second assigned essay. Taken with Andrew Merecicky....

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Andrew Merecicky WRT 104 7 March 2016 Why the Drinking Age Should Be Raised As a freshmen in college, I live for the weekends. Whether it's catching up with friends I have already made, or spending time with people I have just met, the weekends always give me the opportunity to socialize and escape from the week's stress of keeping up with classes and completing necessary assignments. However, I'm also around the most alcohol on the weekends, especially on Friday and Saturday night. From the six months I have been here, I have seen more students being transported to the hospital, getting into fights, and throwing up due to alcohol poisoning more than I have seen in years beforehand. This validates that many college students are not able to handle, or be responsible with, their alcohol. Their irresponsibility and the habit of drinking to get "drunk" (as opposed to having a casual drink), shows that change is necessary. Because many younger students are able to find and consume alcohol in result of older students supplying them with it, the most effective way to make college campuses and the lives of students safer is to raise the drinking age to twenty-five, causing most of the student body to be under age. Although many of my peers would not agree with me, the drinking age should be raised because it would curtail excessive drinking, leading to the reduction of resulting physical problems, mental ailments, and campus sexual assault situations.

Raising the drinking age to twenty-five would lessen the amount of physical harm done to the body. According to Ann Pietrangelo, when alcohol is consumed, it is absorbed into the

bloodstream, affecting every part of the body and putting an individual’s health at serious risk. One part of the body that is severely affected is the excretory system, which is responsible for processing and eliminating waste products (such as alcohol) from the body. However, an excessive consumption of alcohol may cause inflammation to the organs within this system. For example, the pancreas may begin producing toxic substances, leading to pancreatitis. Chronic liver inflammation, resulting in scar tissue that destroys the liver, may result from an excessive intake of alcohol, as well. If both of these organs were to be affected by alcohol, the risk of low blood sugar within the body also rises. Another bodily system that is directly affected by alcohol is the digestive system. Alcohol abuse may damage parts of the digestive tracts, causing gassiness, abdominal fullness, and diarrhea. It may also damage salivary glands and cause stomach ulcers or inflammation. In the circulatory system, a single episode of heavy drinking can strain the heart and lead to complications such as high blood pressure, stroke, or heart failure, while in the skeletal system, muscles become prone to weakness and cramps. Furthermore, an immune system weakened by alcohol makes it increasingly more difficult to fight off illness. Because our bodies are still physically maturing until the age of twenty-five, the risk of inflammation and disease is heightened caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol additionally affects the central nervous system, and in result, mental health. According to Ann Pietrangelo, “one of the first signs of alcohol in your system is a change in behavior.” Because alcohol travels through the bloodstream, it can reach any part of the body. One part of the body it can quickly reach is the brain and other parts of the central nervous system. Immediately, it will cause can individual to slur their words, lose their balance, and not think clearly. Their impulse control and ability to form memories diminishes, as well. Although over time this can cause damage to the frontal lobes of the brain and the nervous system,

resulting in pain, numbness, and abnormal sensations, the individual’s mentality is also severely at risk. This is because alcohol alters our brain chemistry. Our brains rely on a balance of chemicals and processes, but since alcohol is a depressant, “it can disrupt that balance, affecting our thoughts, feelings and actions—and sometimes our long-term mental health” (Drinkaware). For many college students, one drink may lead to increased confidence (due to a lack of inhibition). However, in the long run, an increased consumption of alcohol may lead to feelings of anger, anxiousness, and depression. It may also make these anxious or depressing feelings harder to deal with, since alcohol interferes with the neurotransmitters within our brain, which are necessary for good mental health. Moreover, drinking heavily can affect an individual’s relationships with others and performance in school/work, leading to further depression and disturbed sleep. These affects are especially dangerous to college students, most of which are under the age of twenty-five. This is because in recent experiments, where scientists studied the effects of alcohol on teens and young adults, it was proven that young people do not reach physical maturity in their brains until they are this age. As stated previously, heavy drinking causes significant impairment physically and cognitively. This makes heavy alcohol use a strong factor in most college sexual assaults. According to a national college sample (studied at the University of Buffalo), “about seventytwo percent of rapes [on campus] occurred when the victim was too intoxicated to consent.” Also, on days where women consume four or more drinks, sexual assaults are nineteen times more likely to occur. On the perpetrator’s end, men who drink more heavily are more likely to commit sexual assault. However, their personality traits also play a role. If they are normally hostile towards women, lack empathy towards others, engage or have a positive attitude regarding casual sex, and believe males are more dominant than females, they have a higher

chance of taking advantage of women while intoxicated and/or if the women is intoxicated. In college, social norms that promote binge drinking and casual sex also help to perpetrate sexual assault, according to the same article. Furthermore, it creates barriers to reporting it. However, if the drinking age were to be raised to twenty-five, drinking on campus would be reduced, and sexual assaults would be reduced, as well, since most of these experiences involve the use of alcohol. Although alcohol in young adults leads to an array of problems as stated previously, many individuals still believe that the drinking age should be lowered, not raised. Proponents of lowering the drinking age to eighteen would state that “young people are still drinking despite the fact that this behavior is illegal [and that] the age restriction makes underage drinking cool... [making] teenagers more likely to do it” (Speak Up Coalition). Although it is true that drinking may be considered an act of rebellion, college students are more independent, and thus free from the supervision of their parents, making it less of an act of rebellion and more of a social norm. With that, lowering the drinking age to eighteen would not make college students drink less. Instead of asking others to buy them alcohol, they would be able to access it themselves. College students would also still be surrounded by people that drink, making them more likely to drink. However, if the drinking age were to be raised, almost all of the student body would not be able to access alcohol, making it harder to drink on campus. Many of the proponents of lowering the drinking age include students my age. However, I strongly believe that the drinking age should be raised, not lowered. Because the access to alcohol would be limited in result of raising the drinking age to twenty-five, excessive drinking would be limited, too. In addition, the resulting physical and mental ailments, as well as college sexual assaults, would be possibly eliminated. Because the body and the brain is still physically

maturing until twenty-five, and because roughly ninety percent of college sexual assaults involve the use of alcohol (Elements Behavioral Health), raising the drinking age would make campuses and the lives of students much safer. Although I don’t see the drinking age being raised in the near future, I still think it is especially important for students to learn the risks of drinking alcohol. It could save their life, their best friend’s live, or even their sibling’s life. We need to spread the word.

Works Cited "Alcohol and Mental Health." Drinkaware.co.uk. Drinkaware, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. "The Legal Drinking Age: 18, 21, or 25?" Addiction Treatment Elements Drug Rehab Treatment Centers. N.p., 21 Jan. 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. Leonard, Kenneth E. "Alcohol and Sexual Assault." Research Institute on Addictions (n.d.): n. pag. Buffalo.edu. The University of Buffalo, 2014. Web. 7 Mar. 2016. "Lowering the Legal Drinking Age: An Analysis of the Pros and Cons." Speakupcoalition.org. SpeakUP Prevention Coalition, 2012. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. Pietrangelo, Ann. "How Alcohol Affects the Body." Healthline. Healthline Media, 30 June 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. "Should the Legal Drinking Age Be Raised to 25?" Narconon. Narconon International, 08 May 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016....