Underage Drinking: Let’s Clear Things Up

Tomorrow brings upon us one of the most anticipated events for college students all across the Southeastern United States. Simply hearing the words, “Carolina Cup,” conjures thoughts of bright, fashionable clothes, big hats, and spiffy, sporty Sperry’s. It’s funny to think that most people forget about the actual horse race that takes place. Yes, the event is indeed supposed to center around a horserace. Most people take advantage of this epic social gathering and nice weather to drink, drink, and then drink some more. Getting belligerently drunk is seen as a “rite of passage” of sorts, especially in the population of college students that attend. This year however, presents a number of new problems for those college students. Word has gotten out that the police will be cracking down this year as far as underage drinking goes. The old-school sheriff is prepared to be viewed as the bad guy in order to combat the throbbing problem of under aged drinking delinquents. In previous years, police have been very lenient when it comes to allowing people to drink openly, especially those who may be of questionable age. Obviously, this is going to stir some nervousness and problems for students eager to get out there and drink. However, in recent years there have been numerous problems with underage drinking resulting in trips to the hospital. Although there have been no deaths due to alcohol at Carolina Cup, it is understandable that the police force wants to step up their standards at the ever popular event. This brings up another issue on the standards of underage drinking. Throughout the country, everyone from parents to police officers have different views of dealing with underage drinking. Some people go to extreme measures to make sure underage drinking does not occur while others don’t see it as a problem at all and will even go so far as to provide alcohol for minors. These conflicting views provide problems for all underage college and high school students. Kids do not know how to react to drinking opportunities. To solve this, standards must be the same for everyone. Either the police needs to raise the consequences of underage drinking or lower the drinking age overall. Whatever does happen, the way things are now is unfair to underage kids across the nation and needs to change. It would be nice if it would change by tomorrow so I would know how to go about my day but hey, that’s life.