Coming to the USA has been nothing less than a brutal culture shock, perhaps for one reason alone: alcohol. Of further significance is that such a statement as this seem to encourage officials into believing that I am, automatically, an alcoholic. This is simply untrue.
In the United Kingdom the drinking age sits peacefully at 18 for one unspoken reason, and that reason alone: underage drinking. In London, from my personal experiences, individuals tend to begin unsupervised drinking at around the age of 13. At this level it is a constrained and limited activity, governed entirely by the number of individuals able to attain alcohol, and of course, by the actions of parents. By age 15, individuals will have begun a drinking habit in social situations comparable to that of an average 19 year old university socialite. Finally, by age 18, detrimental drinking habits have become virtually unnoticeable. Thus, when an individual is taken into a university environment, where one is away from home and supervision, there is little fear of ignorant binge drinking.
On the other hand, in the United States, from what I gather, underage drinking generally begins at around the age of 16 or 17. It is apparent, therefore, that unsupervised underage drinking begins roughly around 5 years prior to the legal age, both in the United Kingdom and in the United States. The difference, however, is that individuals entering universities in the US are at a much higher risk of alcohol related injury. Perhaps of greater worry is that it is apparent that American students are much more open to minor drug use than those abroad. The reason? Drugs such as marijuana are significantly easier to come by than alcohol and fake identifications. I simply cannot see the logic behind such a backwards system that inadvertently increases low-class drug use over social drinking.
Programs such as AlcoholEdu, despite what the many institutions employing its services might argue, does little to stem this activity in the United States. In fact, AlcoholEdu offers an insensitive insight into the personal lives of those who are forced to use it. For instance, AlcoholEdu went as far as to suggest that I came from a background of alcoholics, and that rather than drink, I should pray. Such ignorance is infuriating.
In terms of on-campus drinking, I believe the authorities should acknowledge underage drinking, and offer helpful resources to promote responsibility, rather than sending Police through dorms and fraternity houses, and by forcing AlcoholEdu tests. Regarding the on-campus culture, I believe that is the responsibility of the administration. The student body has, and always will continue to have parties, to drink underage, and to have a genuinely good university experience. It is up to the university to acknowledge this and embrace a degree of acceptance and maturity regarding the situation.
1 comment:
I strongly agree with your post. It's so nice to have the opinion of someone who hasn't grown up in the U.S. regarding this issue. It is so true that if the drinking age was lowered there would be far less alcohol abuse going on in the American society. When I first came to SMU I was overwhelmed with all the alcohol rules spoken about at AARO and by our RA's. But I was even more surprised to see how rampant the underage drinking is on our campus. Alcohol EDU did absolutely nothing for students in my opinion.
Post a Comment