College Drinking: A Research Paper

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College; a place once populated by brilliant, studious, well rounded students, has experienced an expected twist over the past few years. 1,825 deaths, 599,000 injuries, 696,000 assaults, and 97,000 cases of sexual abuse. These are such drastic numbers, but there is only one reason for all these corrupted acts of society, alcohol (College Drinking 1). Abusing the privileges of alcohol corrupts students minds, intellectually and socially. Many college students experience a euphoria of freedom and responsibility when they reach college, because for most it, is the first time the student has been away from family members and away from home for an extensive period of time. There is a phenomenon, rebellion, that occurs when the euphoria of freedom…show more content…
According to Phycology Today, “social pressure often causes people to change their picture of reality, and those who resist it are emotionally upset.” Social pressures are a combination of peer pressure, academic pressure, and socioeconomic pressure. With social pressures come negative actions. (Insert transition…show more content…
Studies have been shown that underaged adolescents have successfully purchased alcohol at local liquor stores. (Gorman, O’leary, and Peer 1994) . Alcohol is not as hard to obtain as many may have assumed; one method, as proposed in one study, is that adolescents grow facial hair in attempt to appear older and more mature. (Gorman, O’leary, and Peer 1994). With the misconception of appearance many are obtaining alcohol, which is causing many complications in colleges; deaths, rapes, kidnaps and underdevelopment of the brain. (Gorman, O’leary, and Peer 1994; Hingson 1998; Filgo 1995; Jernigan, Ostroff and Ross 2005; Burke 2008; Engs and Hanson 1998). By reviewing these studies, one can find that alcohol is much easier to obtain by adolescents, but the drinking age is not stopping these teens from consuming and purchasing alcohol ( Engs and Hanson 1998). Unlike other countries, like those in Europe, the alcohol age has been lowered significantly ranging from 13-19. Though America’s age restriction is higher than those age restrictions of getting married, purchasing cigarettes and joining the military, its not stopping teens from obtaining alcohol. But with the amount of teens illegally consuming and purchasing alcohol America has not done anything about lowing the age limit. In many studies preformed in Europe, a lowered drinking age has led to a prevention of rebellion in

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