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Forbidden Fruit Intoxicates The Immature

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By CAMILLE BEREDJICK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 11, 2008

Extra, extra, read all about it. It's breaking news, hot off the press, so you may want to sit down for this exclusive discovery: Apparently, kids drink in college.

Wait a second, is that news? It seems that more than 100 college presidents nationwide have made the connection that when young adults go off to school, finally away from the watchful eyes of Mommy and Daddy, they're tempted to break rules, sort of like a collegiate rite of passage. And what rule could be sweeter to defy than the almighty drinking age?

An obvious argument for lowering the drinking age questions this concept of maturity reached at age 21. At 18, we can vote, but not drink to our candidate of choice. We can marry, but not join the toast at our wedding. We can go off to war, but not have a beer to celebrate a safe homecoming.

If the drinking age is lowered to 18, parents could teach their kids to drink at home, so a teenager's first exposure to alcohol wouldn't happen in college, away from responsibility and supervision. Keg parties are probably far less desirable once a night out with your folks teaches you that beer makes you puke.

I understand the physiological complications of underage drinking: the fact that the brain isn't completely developed until age 21 and is therefore more likely to develop an addiction to alcohol. In addition, there's the link between alcohol and various diseases and the obviously detrimental effects of mixing alcohol and driving.

But the primary problem with the current drinking age is mental, not physical.

As the college presidents in question have pointed out, the most damaging aspect of the modern drinking problem is the phenomenon of binge drinking.

Adolescents are taught throughout their lives that alcohol is the enemy, a vile poison never to be touched until the "mature" age of 21. But the patience of a teenager is only so thin; when a kid goes off to college and alcohol is readily available , the "cool" thing to do is drink as much as possible, because it's been a no-no for so long.

It's the psychological impulse known as reactance - a principle demonstrated by good old Adam and Eve. We always want we can't have.

Unfortunately, this concept will hold true whether the drinking age is 18, 21 or 50.

The Europeans have the right idea when it comes to the acceptance of alcohol. Even as children, my French cousins were always encouraged to have a sip of wine at dinner if they wanted it, just to get a sense of what the stuff is. Some nights, I followed suit, allowed only enough alcohol to understand what it tasted like and that I got dizzy if I drank more than the slightest sip. The "have a sip" rule still applies today, but just like when I was little, I'm still not allowed to drink remotely near enough to even get buzzed. And coming within 100 feet of a motorized vehicle with any alcohol in my system is absolutely out of the question.

No, my family doesn't consist of drunks or enablers, but by exposing me to a very minimal amount of alcohol at a young age, they have taught me that small amounts of alcohol - once I'm old enough to handle it - are perfectly OK if I'm responsible.

My cousins, many of them grown up and living on their own, never get the urge to go on reckless drinking binges the way many American college kids do, and I know I never will either.

If we lighten the restrictions on this forbidden fruit and allow teenagers the right to a drink at home just to see what it's like, without grand shunning or shame, the urge to binge will surely go down, and the number of alcohol-related deaths will follow.

The fruit is much less desirable when you have permission to take it. Just ask Eve.

Camille Beredjick is a senior at Chamberlain High School.

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