SWA 22

America over the past 20 years has developed a problem with binge drinking and alcohol abuse. Some individuals believe lowering the drinking age will solve this problem but that is not the answer. The minimum legal drinking age should stay at 21 because it keeps teenagers safer on and off the road, but young adults in the U.S should be educated about alcohol and the risks that can come from it.

SWA 21

Paper 3-Deforestation

1.     The issue is trying to find a solution to deforestation because rainforest are disappearing at an alarming rate.

2.     Yes there are four different perspectives. The author writes about the perspectives of local and indigenous people, businesses, medical researchers, and environmentalists. The thesis is clear about what the rest of the paper is going to be about.

3.     The introduction and conclusion are both very well written. The introduction starts out very broad and then funnels down to what the paper is going to focus on. In the conclusion, the author wraps up his thoughts and gives his opinion on the issue. This is the only part of the paper where the author shows opinion, which is good.

4.     I thought this paper was very effective. I wouldn’t have much advice because I think this paper is very well written.

SWA 20 Essay 3 Outline

Title: The Debate of Lowering the Drinking Age

Thesis: The on going debate of whether to lower the legal drinking age or not has two distinct sides. John McCardell, the founder of Choose Responsibility, and individuals involved with college campuses believe the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) should be lowered to 18 while Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believe the MLDA should stay at 21. All four perspectives believe they have valid evidence to support their beliefs.

I.               John McCardell believes lowering the drinking age to 18 would be a good solution to irresponsible drinking.

A.     His organization “Choose Responsibility”

1.     Parents teach children how to drink responsibly

2.     Reduce binge drinking and alcohol abuse

B.     Government need to become more creative in dealing with binge drinking

1.     Alcohol education classes

2.     Alcohol license

     

II.             Individuals that work on college campuses believe from what they have witnessed personally that the MLDA should be lowered to 18

A.     Professor Ruth C. Engs has been doing research on why the drinking age should be lowered for over 20 years.

1.     Statistics

2.     Teach responsible drinking techniques

B.     Police chief of Boulder, Colorado whose police force patrols the University of Colorado at Boulder believes underage drinking is unenforceable

1.     Just giving out drinking tickets; not preventing it

2.     Students abusing alcohol

III.           Mothers Against Drunk Driving use statistics to support their belief of keeping the drinking age at 21

A.     The number of drunk driving related deaths has dropped since the MLDA was raised to 21

B.     Teenage brain is still developing

C.     If the MLDA is lowered than teenagers will start drinking at a younger age

IV.            The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has collected data on why the MLDA should stay at 21

A.     Teen motor vehicle risks

B.     Examines different arguments activists for lowering the drinking age have

Conclusion: From all of my research combined I have learned much more than I thought I knew about the debate on lowering the drinking age. John McCardell, people affiliated with colleges, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration all make valid points and use evidence to back up their claims. When I first chose this topic though, I thought the drinking age should be lowered to 18, but after my thorough research I realized supporters of keeping the MLDA at 21 promote a much better argument than those wanting to lower it. I now believe the drinking age should not be lowered and should stay at 21 years old.

SWA 19

Fell, James C. An Examination of the Criticisms of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 Laws in the United States from a Traffic-Safety Perspective. Washington, D.C.: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2008. Internet resource.

            This source was published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to help prove to the public that keeping the minimum legal drinking age at 21 is the best way to save lives. The author splits the paper up into two sections. Section I of this report presents cases that have been made for lowering the drinking age and examines these arguments. Section II provides detailed information and supporting data on the benefits of MLDA 21 and the extent of teen motor vehicle risks. This report gives the perspective of how a National organization feels about the legal drinking age controversy.

Engs, Ruth C. "Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research.” Drinking on Campus CQ Researcher 20 Mar 1998. Web. 19 Mar 2012

            In this article Professor Engs from Indiana University argues her claim of why the drinking age should be lowered based on her research she has been collecting for over twenty years. Engs makes many valid points to her audience with statistics to support her ideas. The author’s main solution to the problem is to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcohol.

3/12/12

The author uses baseball metapphors and examples of different playters to show the racial struggles and barriers that many races must face in America.

The life of racial and ethnic stereotypes in sports
Annotation: The belief that African Americans must be fast because that is the sterotype they have been given. Just as King states in his essay that even though he is Korean, he is grouped with Ichiro because he is Japanese and they "look" the same and have simialr features. Many people assume that because of how someone looks they will perform in a certain way or are categorzied into a certain group but this should not be the case. People are also categorized beyond race; some are stereotyped by weight, height and ethnicity.

Ironically one of the first articles that appears after typing "Asian Americans" is "Linsanity" which for those who dont know much about sports, Jeremy Lin is a professional basketball player. Due to his recent place in the spotlight many have coined the term "Linsanity" when discussing his athletic abilities.

SWA 17

Miron, Jeffrey A., and Elina Tetelbaum. "Does The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Save Lives?." Economic Inquiry47.2 (2009): 317-336. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.


In this article the author challenges two claims: That the minimum legal drinking age is believed to save lives by reducing traffic fatalities amount underage drivers and that the Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act is regarded as contributing an enormous amount to this life saving effect. The author argues that there is data that proves the states that increased their minimum drinking age drive the impact prior to the inducement from the federal government. The author also states that the minimum drinking age appears to only have a small effect on teen drinking


McCardell, John. "Teach Drinking." Atlantic Monthly (10727825) 304.1 (2009): 64. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.


In this article the author argues that the government needs to come up with more creative ways to deal with binge drinking. He suggests that teenagers should take alcohol education classes and get certified before they are allowed to drink. He makes the point to say that lowering and raising the drinking age has not solved the serious problem of binge drinking in teens, so something needs to be done. 

SWA 16

Dean-Mooney, Laura. "A Lower Age Would Be Unsafe." U.S. News & World Report 15 Sept. 2008: 10. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.


This article is written by the president of an organization called Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or better known as MADD. Laura Dean-Mooney argues her stance on the issue of binge drinking. She understands that it is a problem, but disagrees with college presidents and an organization called Choose Responsibility that lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 would solve the problem. The author states many points to help support her argument. Such as, the teenage brain is still developing and the number of people killed in drunk driving related accidents has decreased tremendously. All together her statistics and evidence help prove that lowering the drinking age would be unsafe. 


Balko, Radley. "Let My Students Drink." Reason 40.9 (2009): 10-11. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.


In this article the founder of Choose Responsibility, John McCardell, is being interviewed. He talks about his stance on the drinking age issue and why he thinks lowering the drinking age to 18 would be a good thing. He explains to his interviewer that reducing the age can reduce the risk in alcohol consumption and give parents a chance to show their kids how to handle alcohol responsibly. McCardell also makes a point to say that nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the federal government has the right to place a national drinking age on the country. He argues that it should be up to the states. The author also discusses how MADD negatively responded to the Amethyst Initiative.