ASU2003

College presidents seek drinking age debate - Life - MSNBC.com

It looks like a bunch of college administrators want the drinking age to get lowered. But, I'm not sure if it will have the effect that they want. Sure, part of the fun of underage drinking is the fact that it is illegal and not as easy to get as just walking into a store and paying for it. And when you do get a 'borrowed' keg through the window of your dorm room in the middle of the night, the evidence has to be removed quickly and replaced with some other liquid before the RA finds it...

And then you get spring break, which is a one week holiday from the law if you go to the right places and hang out with the right people. Or you can always leave the US and take advantage of the different law on the other side of the border.

I first drank at 18 on a college road trip to a ski resort. I turned out ok and didn't feel the need to binge or drink as much as I could for the week. I had access to my Dad's beer growing up in my teenage years, but didn't have a desire to drink alone or risk getting in trouble for taking it. But after going bar hopping with my high school buddies for our 10 year HS reunion, I think high school would have been much better if there had been a happy hour at a high school bar after school to practice social skills and get to know each other better. The hour limit would put a limit on how much one could drink. And the fact that anyone could buy a drink would cut back on the cool factor of having something illegal.

I also think that there would be problems with lowering it for college kids. Now that you can buy all the alcohol you want, it is easier to drink more. There will be more DWIs, vandalism, and sexual assaults. The first 4 weeks at college will be like a long spring break. And the lower age law should only apply to 18-20 year olds that are in college.

Willravel

I don't know how old I was, but I was quite young.

College kids will always drink, but I believe it has been demonstrated that alcohol abuse does drop off after the age of 21 in the US. Most of my friends stopped binge drinking at around 21, when it stops being dangerous and interesting.

Jetée

Never had a drink.

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genuinegirly

I could cite my concerns about neurological development. But I won't. I'd rather not see the government determining what is an appropriate drinking age.

My first "drink" was about 8 months after I turned 21. I went to a bar with a couple of friends from a theatre group. They offered to buy me a drink. I didn't know the first thing about ordering drinks. So they ordered me something citrus-y. It was yummy. They mentioned to the bartender that I was the DD for the night. She didn't check my ID. I assume the drink was a virgin. It had absolutely no effect on me. But it was tasty.

The next "drink" was on October that year. A friend made pumpkin beer. I took a sip. It was odd.

These stories are by no means interesting. I'm sure other people have more exciting stories to tell.

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Speed_Gibson

Another entry on the boring stories....
My first "drink" was some fruity thing with some amount of alcohol my friends bought for me during fleet week '97 in New York. I had one sip if memory serves then was done with it.
Aside from that, absolutely nothing with any strength to it. Just a few winecoolers on occasion with my wife.

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Ayashe

My parents had a different train of thought on drinking. Drink at home and drink responsibly. That is not to say that I never had a drink without them, but that they did not feel any harm in me having a sip of this or that, perhaps a 1/2 glass of wine at Christmas or other occasion. If I wanted a drink, I could go get one, something I never took advantage of. I imagine that if I was abusing the privilege it would have stopped immediately. I cannot remember the exact age, maybe around 15. Realize that at that age I was respecting the fact that it was being allowed to me. In return I was very careful about maintaining my composure and not behaving like a "drunk." After I reached 16 or so, going out with friends, hanging around bonfires and having a beer or whatever was available. I really was never what I would call a drinker, one or two and I was done. I could probably say that I had more frequent alcohol consumption when I was underage than I do now.

FuriousAvatar

I waited until I was 21 to drink. I have a long family history of alcoholism and so was leery to begin my own possible legacy of alcohol abuse without some sort of safety net, ie. a bartender or friend to watch me.

Turns out my fears were unfounded, however. My first experience was something of a disappointment, to be honest. I have an extreme tolerance for beer or alcohol of pretty much any form, so far. I have never gone past the "lightly buzzed" stage, and even to get there it takes about as much booze that would completely smash someone with an average tolerance.

Manic_Skafe

I started drinking when I was 18. Never felt the need to binge drink because alcohol was always more expensive than weed and the buzz from smoking was always preferable to the buzz from drinking. And I guess I'm fairly normal. The only time I've ever been drunk was last weekend and that's because I forgot to eat before drinking.

I say we treat drinking just as we do driving - it's not a right but a privilege. Lower the drinking age to 16 and stipulate that anyone under the age of 21 must undergo alcohol responsibility courses and receive certification before they can legally consume alcohol.

We obsess so much over prohibition but never about education.

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levite

Pretty early, if you count the sips and half-glasses of wine I was always allowed for ritual purposes on the Sabbath and whatnot....

My first serious drink was at 13, when I fell in with as bad a crowd as I could find (this being Minneapolis, MN, in the early 1980s, as bad as I could find was not very). It was gin and Bubble-Up, and to me it tasted like crappy 7-Up laced with floral aftershave and lighter fluid. I would not drink again until I was in college.

Even in college I was never a big drinker. I never developed a taste for beer, and I never cared for getting drunk even a quarter as much as I cared for getting stoned (like Manic Skafe said. Right on, brother!). I still don't drink much. I haven't gotten drunk more than a handful of times in the past thirteen years, but I do keep a bottle of single-malt scotch in the house for the occasional sipping beverage, and I sometimes have a bottle of hard cider, or some wine with dinner. But that's about it.

My first toke was also at 13, BTW, and I smoked on and off for the next year, until for various reasons I decided to stop for at least two years, and in the end I didn't really smoke again until college. Then I smoked like a blissed-out chimney for four years, and have since continued to smoke on and off in moderation ever since.

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Charlatan

The drinking age in Ontario is 19 and I had my first legal drink sometime after my 19th birthday.

I had had wine prior to this but I believe my first drinking experiences were when I was around 13 or 14. It was at a Scouts event. We were up doing some repairs to one of the camps and decided we were going to get very drunk. I decided that I was going to drink until I passed out. I believed that in doing so I would know my limits. That night it was Vodka and OJ. I didn't touch vodka for years after that.

I went to parties and drank all through high school. It was rarely a big deal, although I suppose in those early days it was all about drinking to get drunk. My drink at the time was rum and coke.

In University, at age 19 I was legal. I switched to drinking beer because it was much cheaper to drink when going out to clubs and bars.

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speshul-k

As I recall, my first proper drink was when I was 13. Thankfully there was no peer pressure between any of my social circles and everyone was free to choose whatever they wanted really, I never really binge drank or anything on the scale you see today among 13+ year olds. That said, I did make up for that quite a bit once I turned 18 and even still making up for it.

Nisses

I suppose stuff like half a glass of wine or beer at home around holidays: around age 7.

Actual first drink: around age 14.

Some binge drinking between 17 and 21.

Then seriously lowered my intake to 3 or 4 drinks a week.

And now I only drink 1 glass of whiskey on saturday anymore.

From personal experience I don't think it's a good idea to lower the age limit. In college especially it messes with your ability to perform. Weed the same.

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Halx

I can remember taking sips of wine at weddings when I was real young, maybe 6-8.

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mixedmedia

I can't remember exactly. Probably 13 or 14. I drank both out and at home. Like Katyanna, I was diligent about maintaining my composure so that I wouldn't lose this privilege. Plus, I was a total snob (surprise!) and was disgusted at the way drunk teenagers behaved - didn't want to be that way. Never became a binge drinker or anything. I like drinking enough to catch a buzz and laugh and talk and have a good time. Guess I have a pretty good internal monitor which tells me when to quit. Like furiousavatar, I have had a lot of alcoholism in my family, too, which makes me very thankful for that quality.

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Catdaddy33

I was 14. In TN they changed the law in the early 80s from 19 to 21, but grandfathered in anyone that was born before July 1965, I was born in Oct 67 so I had to wait till I was 21, but still had access thanks to friend's older brothers.

I don't think its a good idea at all, I think drunk driving accidents and deaths will increase and I really don't want to see 18-20 year olds in the bar... I don't think lowering the drinking age will lower the incidence of "binge" drinking, if anything it will make it more accessible...

PonyPotato

My mom offered me the occasional wine cooler once I got into high school (so around 14 years old), but the first time I drank to get drunk was when I was 17 with a few friends. I don't like vodka anymore.

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The_Jazz

I had sips of beer as early as 4 or 5 and liked the taste. I had wine at 8 or 9 but didn't like it. Knowing my parents' taste in wine now, that's no surprise.

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Psycho Dad

My first beers were when I was far younger than anyone would debate was an appropriate drinking age. And this beer was purchased by a friend's father for my friend and I to drive around town and drink while driving a car underage as well. Hardly anything a responsible parent should have done. Fortunately his mother called the police and had us pulled over before we became the topic of one of those drivers ed class talks from the popo.

At that time, the legal drinking age for beer in most states was 18. We drank a lot between that night and when we turned 18. I wouldn't call much of it binge drinking, but a lot of of was no more responsible than the night we drove around town with a Mustang full of beer at 14 years old.

The "Tappa Kegga Bud" mindset that these college presidents believe would be averted by lowering the drinking age is bred by our failure to inform young people more than when it is decided that they can legally drink.

All in all, I'd rather see the legal age for liquor to remain at 21 and lower the age for beer to 18. I'd also rather see young people being educated and informed about responsible alcohol consumption rather than expecting legislation to be a silver bullet.

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yellowmac

I had my first real official drink on my 21st birthday. I wasn't much of a party-hardy guy in college and wasn't into the social drinking scene. I didn't think drinking was that big of a deal and had no real desire to drink. Now post-21st birthday, I've had my fair share of drinks, and have had my fair share of fun evenings. But I've never drunk to excess where I've felt sick and I needed to vomit or something. Typically I hit a point where enough alcohol gives me a fairly bad headache so that naturally tells me to stop.

As for lowering the drinking age, I think the entire American cultural attitude towards alcohol needs to shift before that can happen. I mean, it's not like Europe has a bad drunk driving problem (or do they? correct my ignorance if need be) and most countries' legal drinking age is 18 or lower, no? Most families supervise their kids drinking alcohol, as it's more like a natural part of dinner instead of something to get piss drunk with, right? So there's really no "forbidden fruit" mentality and attitude that lead kids down this binge drinking road in college. Once American families teach kids how to responsibly handle alcohol, then perhaps the drinking age could be lowered. I doubt this would happen because there's simply too much of a Puritanical and conservative attitude that lingers in this country.

At least that's my perspective on this issue...

Xazy

When I was 3, I supposedly used to go around in my zaidy (grandfather) shul (synogauge) and drink some shot glasses of whatever was on the table. I can not vouch for it but I have heard stories. Outside of that I used to drink since I was 13, 4 cups every passover seder night, and make kiddush on wine on friday night meals.

As far as drink drink, when I was 13 night before we moved from detroit my neighbor took me and my brothers (they were 17,18) and we hung out drinking beer. After that socially not til I was 22 outside of for religious purposes.

abaya

Had sips of wine at home starting from age 5, but it was only during social occasions and more to get attention from adults than anything (encouraged by my parents).

Did not have much of anything after that, until I was 19 and dating a semi-"bad boy" during my evangelical years. My first real drink was a shot of aquavit (Norwegian nasty shit) at his family's annual Christmas smorgasbord party... done solely to impress the audience. And then his mom (knowing my age) followed that up by giving me several glasses of wine and then Bailey's. Not surprisingly, I got pretty drunk. I had some beers on the following New Year's Eve, which I asked him to buy me (again, attempting to impress), but that produced no drunkenness. I was not a fan of alcohol during any of this time... and did not drink anything again until my 21st birthday, and then went full-throttle for a few years, until the blackouts happened too often.

Drinking age: well, here in Iceland, the age is 20 and people start when they're probably 14 or so. I would say that this nation has a serious problem with alcohol, European or not. People binge (and ONLY binge) well into their 30s and 40s... I only know of a few families who are the "wine with dinner" types. I see this as a mainly Scandinavian problem, however, and does not extend to the rest of Europe.

One fantastic thing about the Nordic countries, though, is that they're very serious about their enforcement against drunk driving... and kids get their licenses very late here, too, so that's just not really a problem. No one messes with the drunk driving laws... the consequences are too high. Everyone takes taxis when they're going out, period. I've never seen a similarly serious approach in America--might do people some good to have MUCH stricter blood-alcohol laws, and a visible police presence in areas known for drunk driving.

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LoganSnake

I donno. I think my parents gave my to try champagne when I was around 10.

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Meditrina

My first memory of drinking was from high school senior year. I remember waiting outside of 7-11 and asking people to buy my friends and I some wine coolers. I also remember having a party when my parents went away. I hugged the mailbox that night. I drank and smoked for the first 2 years I was away at college. Those years are a blur. My first legal drink was not until I was 22. It would have been at 21 if I were not going out with a possessive over-bearing asshole at the time. Come to think of it, I had my first legal drink was when I met my husband.

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snowy

I was allowed to drink at home with parental supervision as a teenager. If my uncle brought a bottle of wine for Thanksgiving, I was allowed to have a glass. When I got to college, I drank maybe once or twice a year until I was 20 or so.

I think binge drinking has more to do with the crowd you hang out with and peer pressure to engage in that sort of behavior. I think it would be less likely to happen if the drinking age were lowered and more people talked openly and honestly about the consequences of binge drinking. However, the puritanical attitude in regards to alcohol consumption in this country persists--and it turns alcohol and alcohol consumption into forbidden fruit. It creates this attitude that when a person drinks, they must drink to the point of being wasted. I see this among friends of mine still today--people who are recently 21. It disgusts me to think that this is the attitude they have--but almost all of them were raised in a manner that is the complete opposite of how I was raised. I can't help but think that if only they had been exposed to alcohol in a controlled and responsible manner prior to coming of age they wouldn't have this attitude.

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World's King

No idea.



But I agree. Lower the drinking age and raise the driving age to 21.

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CinnamonGirl

My first taste was when I was 9 or 10... my stepdad let me try some of his beer. I was so disgusted I didn't touch the stuff again for almost 12 years. I remember mixing vodka & koolaid when I was about 12.

Actually getting drunk though? Ummm...18, I think. I don't think binge drinking had anything to do with it... I was just a lightweight.

I've read arguments for a sort of "learner's permit" for drinking. Like being able to drive when you're 15 but only with parents... you'd have a permit to drink at 18 (maybe as young as 16), but not at bars, and not after 11. It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure it would work.

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ASU2003

I would think it would work out better if that was reversed. The hard stuff is expensive and it would cost too much to throw a non-beer party. And I would hope most people know if you chug a fifth of vodka, you would be in big trouble.

There is also talk of eliminating the drinking age altogether and letting parents set the rules, but I have a feeling that 50% of the kids of strict 'no drink' parents would rebel and get trashed at college. Then the other idea is to raise the drinking age to 23 so that most college kids couldn't buy alcohol. Mexico tourism in March would go up a lot.

snowy

The good stuff is expensive, when it comes to hard liquor. There are plenty of cheap alternatives to choose from. And I live in a state with heavy vice taxes.

Here in Oregon it's legal to drink in one's own home with parental permission/supervision. That's fine. But why should a parent dictate what their child does once that child is over 18, in your scenario of parents being in charge? That's ridiculous.

And I don't think raising the drinking age would work, especially in states that tax the sale of liquor and beer heavily, or in places where they are many establishments that cater to younger drinkers, as they would lose revenue. Plus, it would be impossible to raise it across the board--the drinking age is only 21 across the United States because the federal government is blackmailing the states with highway funding. Given that that funding is drying up, I don't think that's a card the feds can afford to play anymore.

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Vigilante

I started drinking whiskey at 13, and chased it with beer. We'd sneak out at 2AM and run around being mischievous, then go to a friend's house and drink till around 5AM, then stumble home and sneak back in. I never got caught, but my grandfather (I lived with my grandparents) told me if he caught someone coming in the window, he would shoot them and ask questions later.

So I quit the window and waited for him to go to bed, then went out the front door

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drag0nmanes

The first drink I had that I can remember would probably have to be when I was 15. Would spend the night with my buddy on Friday nights and we'd go to the bowling alley with his older brother and his older friends and drink beer and long islands. This was also the place where damn near everyone was outside smoking and most of them were under 18 too. Since those years I've rarely gone bowling, seeing as I thought why go bowling when I can drink here on my own. I've always had a pretty high tolerance and would drink a shitload on and off over the last 10 years, although my consumption has dwindled in the past few years. Part of it is me just getting over drinking all the time, the other part being that as I drive for my lively-hood that its a good idea not to get trashed all the time and cause problems with my main source of income.
Personally I think me starting early helped me overcome the binge drinking my friends got into when they went into college, although I've seen plenty of kids that are just as irresponsible that have been doing it as long as I have been.

Spartanx9

My first drink would have to be during one of my family gatherings. It wasn't much, just a few sips of beer, but was the first time.

Given that I don't particularly care for alcohol that much, waiting until the legal drinking age isn't a torment :P

Fotzlid

I think my first drink was around 14 or so. One of the neighborhood kids poured some of his dad's whiskey into one of those old jelly jar/glasses and brought it over. Got nice and snockered on a few sips.

Jenna

Not sure when my first drink was, but my first binge drinking session happened when I was about 13. It became a steady weekend party habit for about 2-3 years after that. It has slowly decreased.

Now, I get drunk once a month maybe?

I love drinking socially, but I'm not the type that sits by myself and drinks.

The problem is that I don't like beer. I will drink it if I'm at a party and that's the only option, but it's just not my cup of tea. And thus, when I do drink, it's always shots or mixed drinks.

Cernunnos

My first sip was at the age of 8. I can clearly remember my paternal grandparents' condo in Gatlinburg during Thanksgiving. My dad, grandmother, and grandfather were seated at the table after dinner and my dad offered me a sip. I thought it was vile and spit it out into the garbage bin. Looking back, I believe it was a merlot.

My second encounter was at the apartment while living with my mother (parents divorced), age 13. She had an opened bottle of white zinfandel in the refridgerator and I dared to pour myself a small cup's worth. The taste was alright, but it was nothing special to me.

I hadn't established much of an appreciation for wine until after the age of 18. My first beer was at 15 or so, a Blue Moon pale belgian lager. Not bad. While not quite 21, my family realizes that I am not prone to abusing alcohol and treats me as an adult at gatherings, setting a glass of wine down at my position of the table like everyone else. It's not an issue, as I've never given cause to make it one.

Tully Mars

My brother and I got shit faced drunk off some MD 20-20 we found while our family was camping at Blue Lake, near Suttle Lake and the town of Sisters, Oregon. I was around 13. Blue lake is privately owned now so I'm not sure now but back then you could not use a motor on your boat. We rowed out to the center of the lake, downed the bottle and found rowing back impossible. The boat was a rental and at dusk the marina owner came out to tow us back. I kind of remember him saying something like "ya boy's doing a little drinking this evening?" The next thing I remember was walking back to our tent and then waking up the next morning. I have no memory of what happened or going to bed. I asked my brother the next day what happened (parents) he said he had no idea. I know nothing was ever said.

After that I started drinking pretty regularly when given the chance. By 15 or 16 I drank and partied at least every weekend. A habit I maintained until I entered the Navy. After joining the Navy the drinking increased and the "other" partying ceased as urine tests were common. Drinking was for all purposes a cultural thing while in the Navy. Often the Navy paid for the booze and at least a couple times raffled off hookers.

After being discharged I came back to the states and had a 6mos old daughter waiting for me. So I cut way back. Maybe drink once or twice a month. After a while I found myself working so much I ended up going months, sometimes years, without a drink.

Now I drink here and there but usually just two or three at most, a buzz and I'm good. Lately I've found myself having one or two beers while floating in my pool staring at the stars right before going to bed. It's a nice relaxing way to end a day.

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Punk.of.Ages

As soon as I could walk, my grandma started having me take her empty beer cans to the garbage. They were never quite empty though. They'd always have a little bit left in the bottom, and I'd toss that back on my way. Doesn't seem real significant until you realize my grandma's an alcoholic and drinks anywhere from 30-60 beers a day.

My first real drunken experience was at 10 though. One of my friends brought a sixer of Coors Light to school and we put them down after. I was quite drunk as I remember it.

For the record, I'm an alcoholic...

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MSD

I had communion wine from a young age, had a few beers at 18, and met my friends who got me into drinking at 20. They convinced me to skip my film class and go drink with them; I had about 7 or 8 drinks over the course of 2 hours and just started to feel it.

The first time I got drunk was at a campus activities conference when I was still 20. The one guy who was 21 and the guy with the fake ID bought us booze and we went back to the hotel where we had rooms on the 7th floor and our adviser (who was a very liberal Mormon who knew what we'd be up to) was in his room on the 13th. Long story short, I had 9 shots of vodka, 9 shots of Jack, 3 Smirnoff Ices, then went down to the lobby to sober up and met some nice people who gave me 3 cups of homemade wine. While student government advisers from other schools were busting up parties and telling people they could be kicked out of school, ours called us around noon (missing the morning educational sessions) and told us to be in the lobby by 2:00 so we could go out for lunch.

I've been quite the drinker ever since.

m0rpheus

I was probably about 14 or 15. I probably started binge drinking at about 17 or so. Now? I've never been one to sit and drink more than one or two around the house. Most of my drinking happens at a bar that I and quite a few friends frequent on Friday nights. I'd say I'm there 2 or 3 nights a month.

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