Dallas Morning News “Student Voices”: Lower the Drinking Age
Kelsey McKinney, a Dallas-area high school senior and “Student Voices” columnist for the Dallas Morning News, has seen the unintended consequences of Legal Age 21 firsthand. In her Sunday column, she proposed a potential solution to the problem of toxic drinking that she has witnessed among her peers: lower the drinking age.
McKinney spared few details in her column, and she cast the reality of alcohol in blunt terms:
“The current drinking age is not stopping underage drinking; it is simply causing it to become more secretive.
In that secret lies danger. Students treat drinking as a recreational activity instead of giving it the respect it deserves. Because they are unable to drink out in the open, they find ways to do it illegally – be that at parties or with fake identification.
Today’s young people, as a result of their underground drinking habits, have no idea how to consume alcohol with tolerance or wisdom. They have been taught to down as many drinks as they can in as short amount of time as possible.”
Check out the rest of her column and let us know what you think in the comments.