Lowering the Drinking Age to 18

At the age of eighteen the United States recognizes one as a legal adult. As an adult, a person can now vote, sign contracts, get married, give sexual consent, buy cigarettes, possess a handgun and join the military. One thing is notably missing from the list: the purchase and consumption of alcohol. In the US, one cannot buy or drink alcoholic beverages until the age of twenty-one. Eighteen year olds should have the legal right to drink and thus, the law must be changed accordingly. Our country today tends to turn a blind eye towards underage drinking, which occurs underground in settings such as house and frat parties behind the backs of parents and authority figures. A type of taboo surrounds drinking in our culture, making it the “forbidden fruit” of society adding to the appeal it has towards those underage, and those leaving their parents and heading to college. The time has come for the government to look at the benefits of lowering the drinking age to eighteen.

 

 

-Turning 18 entails receiving the rights and responsibilities of adulthood to vote, smoke cigarettes, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, be prosecuted as adults, and join the military – which includes risking one’s life

-Having the drinking age at 21 has caused it to be pushed underground

-Basements, frat parties

-Legalized drinking can be supervised by police, security guards, health care providers

-No longer turn a blind eye

-Address issue more clearly

-Afraid to report alcohol poisoning on college campuses (fear of legal conseqences)

“If the drinking age had been 18 instead of 21, would the kids have called for help when Gordie passed out?” Stahl asked Leslie Lanahan.

-Drunk driving is still an issue regardless of the drinking age—shouldn’t stricter drunk driving laws be eforced instead?

“When the United States reduced its drinking age in the seventies it was a public health disaster. Death rates in the states that reduced their drinking age jumped 10 to 40 percent,” Hurley explained.

-real problem isn’t underage drinking; it’s alcohol abuse

-Drinking license?

-Less of a taboo, become more of an activity of moderation

-Good for the economy (bars)

World Drinking Age Map

 

 

world drinking map

http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2007/8/13/world-drinking-map.html

world drinking map dos

Source: Cognac, “Legal Drinking Age In Different Countries,” www.cognac.com, May 22, 2009

 

Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-4813571.html?pageNum=4

http://drinkingage.procon.org

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000115-2,00.html

So Much School Work Xoxo

So I am extremely overwhelmed with Stat exams and psychology papers so my WIP blog is a little sparse today.

For my policy paper I’ve been thinking about some topics focused around

-Bullying in schools

-And others… still brainstorming.

WIP

I literally feel like I’ve had a finals week this week… TGIT? (Thank God It’s Thursday)

I plan on working on my deliberation paper and online deliberation this weekend. Other things I need to work on this spring break are readings for my BBH, psych, and chem class, a chem quiz, and relaxation.

WIP-Deliberation

With the upcoming deliberations on Sustaining Ourselves: How Can We Best Meet the Needs of Today and Tomorrow, I will have to be a moderator for day two. The topic of deliberation will be the option in which we focus the power of markets and technological innovation.

As a moderator I think it will be important to be authoritative but not overbearing. It is not my turn to talk, it is the other students participating. As a way to keep the momentum of the students ideas going I can reply to their responses in a way to make them further think and further spark ideas and brain flow. For example, after they make a remark and there is an awkward silence I could reply with, “And how would those against this, refute this idea?” or something of that nature.

Overall, I think it will be extremely interesting to guide a lively discussion and hopefully, we will be able to accomplish a true deliberation.

Future School Plans

For my Honors Psych 212 class, focused on child development, we have an upcoming paper due. We have to find a recent research article of our choice, relevant to class topics, and summarize and discuss it in a paper.

We are supposed to find an article in which the topic really intrigues us. As I have been thinking about this in the back of my mind here are some possibly topics I want to look further into or have already stumbled upon.

1. The effects of walking around naked as a baby on development

2. The effects of a pet on a toddlers development

3. Why some toddlers simply skip the crawling stage.

4. How some babies personalities show through at an extremely young age.

5. The effect of being the middle child on human development

I am leaning towards number 5 because I am a middle child and I really do think birth order plays a huge role on the person you become. (That is my hypothesis at the least.)

Life In Progress

So I don’t exactly have any major projects going on this week, but I do have a chemistry exam and a statistics exam. I plan on budgeting my study time and making sure I am prepared for the tests.

I also have a ton of reading for developmental pyschology in a very bland textbook, goodie.

As for English, I am working on my This I Believe podcast and thinking about websites I could use for my deliberation.

Some include:

The Huffington Post

Onward State

Phillyburbs.com

Overall, I have a lot on my plate but a pretty good idea of how to get it all done.

New Rough Draft of I Believe

This, too, shall pass.

Nana does not really fit many of the elderly people stereotypes. She does not knit sweaters, make pies, or play bingo; she’d rather socialize, take a casual dip in the pool, or watch Sex in the City with a cold glass of scotch in her hand. However, they say wisdom comes with age and for 91 year old Irene Bittner, this most certainly is true.

Stability rarely existed in Nana’s life. She moved in and out of the country, cared for her widowed mother,  got married then divorced, remarried,  had four children and her husband died young. Yet, here Irene is, mentally stronger than ever, and passing down her life lessons to her six grandchildren; I am fortunate enough to be one of them.

Growing up, some of my favorite weekends were the ones spent with Nana. She’d teach me card games and we’d read gossip magazines together, maybe grab some lunch, and watch Friends. One Friday afternoon while she visited, I stumbled in from school, distraught with the stressors of 6th grade. Nana asked me what was wrong, and tears began to fall down my freckly face. My terrible math teacher. My bullying friends. My nervousness for the school play. Basically, my life was done and my lowest point had been reached. What words of sympathy did my Nana grant me? An it’s okay, Kimberly or a don’t cry sweetie?  No, she responded with the simple phrase, this, too, shall pass.

That’s it? It will pass? But I’m living through it right now, my sixth grade mind screamed. My life is in shambles and the only thing you have to say to me is that it will pass?!

Without any ounce of understanding, I marched up to my room and dwelled on my 12 year old woes. And of course, those woes did pass, but the words of my Nana did not sink in.

During my senior year, it’s accurate to say that everything hit the wall after I went to Italy, then got mono. I missed over two and half weeks of school, and felt like the walking dead for a long time. I needed to de-stress to feel better, but the lingering doom of AP exams, inability to stay awake and excess amount of makeup work kept me on the verge of a breakdown.

And what did my Nana say to me one afternoon after my 3rd nap of the day as I struggled to teach myself a missed calculus lesson? “This, too, shall pass, Kimberly.”

At that point, the the outcome of my senior year, grades and health remained unclear. However, I knew that by believing in my Nana’s words, knowing that there were non-bedridden, energetic days ahead, I could more easily get by. This was temporary.  

That period of my life did, too, pass. Was it enjoyable, epic, or a pretty sight? Not even close… but I emerged with an instilled faith that life continues to exist even when things go horribly off course. Not every day will be as easy as the ones where I lounge on the couch and gossip about celebrities with Nana, but with hope and resilience, the tough ones will pass on by and the simple happy days will come once again.

I Believe This, Too, Shall Pass

I believe this, too, shall pass.

My nana does not really fit many of the elderly people stereotypes. She does not knit sweaters, make pies, or play bingo; she’d rather socialize, swim in my Aunts pool, or watch Sex in the City with a cold glass of scotch in her hand. However, they say wisdom comes with age and for 91 year old Irene Bittner, this most certainly is true.

Stability rarely existed in Nana’s life. She was born in New Jersey, moved to Canada, then back to the states. Her father died young, she moved to Hollywood for a year, got married, got divorced, remarried, had four children and then her husband died young. Yet here Irene stands, mentally stronger than ever, and passing down her life lessons to her six grandchildren.

Growing up, some of my favorite weekends were the ones spent with Nana. She’d teach me card games and we’d read gossip magazines together, maybe grab some lunch, or watch an episode of Friends. One Friday afternoon while she was visiting I stumbled in from school. Distraught and overwhelmed with all the stressors from 6th grade, my Nana asked me what was wrong. The tears began to trickle down my freckly face. My terrible math teacher. My bullying friends. My nervousness for the school play. Basically, my life was done. I had reached my lowest point in my sixth grade mind. What words of comfort did my Nana grant me? An it’s okay, Kimberly or want a cookie to cheer you up?  No, she responded with the simple phrase, this, too, shall pass.

That’s it? This will pass? But I’m living through it right now. Everything is not okay. My life is in shambles and the only thing you have to say to me is that it will evenually be okay.

Without any ounce of understanding, I marched up to my room and dwelled on my 12 year old woes. And of couse, those woes did pass, but I lacked the capacity to fully understand the significance of her words, though they did not leave my mind.

During my senior year, it’s pretty accurate to say that everything hit the wall. I had just returned from a trip in Italy, causing me to miss a lot of school, and then returned and came down with mono. I missed over two and half weeks of school, and felt deathly for a long time. I needed to destress to feel better but the lingering doom of AP exams, inability to stay awake, and excess amount of makeup work made that nearly impossible. I became more and more stressed, entering into a vicious cycle which I could not escape.

And what did my Nana say to me one afternoon after I had woken from my 3rd nap of the day, and was struggling to teach myself a calculus lesson I had missed? “This, too, shall pass, Kimberly.”

And though, I could not fully know what was to come of the rest of my senior year, of my grades and of my health, I knew that by believing in my Nana’s words, I could more easily get through this as it wasn’t going to last forever. 

That period of my life did pass. Was it enjoyable? Not exactly, but it has given me the renewed faith that life doesn’t cease to exist when things go wrong. I had to learn to be resilient, just like my Nana to pass through the hardship.   

 

 

 

TIB Topics, Civic Issue, Passion Blog

 

TIB topics:

This Too Shall Pass

I believe that this too shall pass. My Nana frequently says the phrase, “This too shall pass.” After 91 years of living, my Nana surely knows that, life goes on, and it never is the end of the world. As a teenager I admit to believing that the end of the world, indeed, was approaching during some tough points. However, as I am aging and maturing and experiencing new hardships, I am finally realizing the logic behind my nana’s saying and accepting that things get better, and we have the strength to get through difficult situations. Whenever I’m at a low point, I remind my self that hope still exists.

Sleep

I always took sleep for granted when I had such a busy schedule, especially during my senior year. I figured it was more important to stay up until 2, then get up at 6 to finish work, rather than get a full 8 hours. This was a poor choice, and the outcome led to an intense outbreak of the feared and dreadful, virus: mono. With mono I had to miss a week of school as a slept, basically the whole day (and this was after I missed a week of school because I was in Italy.) My efforts to finish school work late in the night led me to miss an immense amount of school and feel horrible for a month. Sleep is no longer and unnecessary time-consuming thing, in my eyes.

 

Civic Issue

I’m interested in the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the state laws regarding same-sex marriage. The issue of same-sex marriage takes up a lot of time and effort in politics and I believe it is wasted energy. Same-sex marriage should be legalized and these debates should cease to exist and the people who disagree with the issue, should just not marry the same sex themselves. If two people love each other, why should the government not allow them to make vows to stay together the rest of their life. With so many more impeding issues, it doesn’t make sense to constantly focus on who people choose to spend their life with to be happy.

 

Passion Blog:

My passion blog this semester is going to be centered around the over-used phrase “That’s sooo college.” It’s going to be about quirky, bizarre experiences that you may only find in a University setting. It may be about events on campus, or experiences of classmates, or horror stories about exams, professors, etc. However, the overall meaning of the blog will hopefully be focused around the irreplaceable college experience.