This 3 page paper summarizes four articles that express various points of view with regard to the issue.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_HVDrink.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) to 21. This paper examines some of the points raised on both sides of the issue. Discussion The two main "talking points" of
the two sides are these: those who propose lowering the drinking age believe that doing so would allow young people to learn to drink responsibly; those who favor leaving
the MLDA at 21 say that doing so saves lives. If the MLDA were lowered to 17 or 18, young people would be allowed to drink in the presence
of adults in restaurants, taverns, pubs and at university functions. Drinking in such controlled environments would allow the teens to learn to drink responsibly, by seeing others handle alcohol
in a responsible manner, as part of a social setting (Engs). Other cultures, particularly in Europe, use alcohol on a daily basis; wine or beer is routinely drunk
with meals and is not regarded as something "special" to be consumed only on particular occasions; nor is it regarded either as "poison" or a "magic potion" (Engs). That
is, alcohol is not viewed with the same sensationalism in Europe that it is here, where its either condemned or made the reason for a gathering (Engs). Its simply
a fact of life, and one can choose to drink or not. If American youngsters were taught to handle alcohol from an early age in the same way as
their European counterparts, teens would have much less trouble when they encounter it on their own (Engs). Parents should have the right and responsibility of teaching their children how to
use alcohol in moderation (Whelan). However, this isnt always possible with the MLDA at 21; in particular, parents and their teenage children cant eat and drink together at a