Patch Teen Peer Panel Question of the Week

Cate Toman of St. Joseph's Academy provided the first question for 2012. She wants to know what her fellow teen agers think the legal age ought to be to vote, drink, buy tobacco products, join the military and all. Here's what the rest of the panel members think of this issue.

Sarah Allen, Ladue High

Personally, I'm very conflicted about the drinking age. On one hand, when eighteen year olds are allowed to die for their country in the armed service, it seems ludicrous to tell them they're not allowed to have a beer. But, on the other hand, allowing eighteen year olds to drink would also increase the availability of alcohol in high schools.

Physiologically, the effects of alcohol on teenagers is far more potent than the effects on adults. Ultimately, though, I think it might be better to experiment with lowering the drinking age to eighteen. Realistically, what college freshman or sophomore is going to avoid alcohol when all the juniors and seniors are using it freely? I don't think that the illegality of the substance is enough to deter its use; rather, people under 21 continue to use alcohol anyway. However, I think that this is a very complicated issue that deserves a lot of careful study and debate.

"Buying cigarettes, I think, should be the same as the drinking age, or perhaps lower. Cigarettes are more addictive, but they also don't lead to impaired judgement and slower reflexes like alcohol does. Provided that cigarettes are labeled with a strong warning of the effects of their use, I don't see that we can prevent people from using them apart from banning cigarettes entirely.

"I don't take any issue with eighteen as the age when people can vote and join the military. Since eighteen is the standard age when people are considered adults, and there doesn't seem to be any evidence that seventeen or nineteen or twenty would be a better age, I don't see that there's any reason to alter it.

In addition, in terms of our educational system, eighteen seems to work well, as most college freshmen are eighteen at least when the academic year begins, and college often signifies the beginning of a more independent chapter in the lives of Americans. As such, although eighteen may seem an arbitrary designation to become an adult, I think it's better suited to the national age of adulthood than another arbitrary number.

Allison Hermann, St. Joseph's Academy

I feel that if a person is aloud to hold a gun and fight for their country they should be able to have a drink after. If a person is aloud to vote for their country then they are obviously responsible enough have a drink. I feel that there should be one age for everything. It does not matter to me if it is 18 years old or 21, but I think that there should be one age for everything.

If you are a legal adult, you should be able to have a drink of your choice and rent a car or hotel room. I believe that the legal age to drink, buy cigarettes, vote, join the military and rent cars/hotel rooms should all be the same.

Rebecca Antony, MICDS

I think the legal age to drink should stay 21 and the legal age to drive 16. The 5 year gap here allows kids time to get used to driving before they start hitting the bars on top of that. I don't think smoking should be allowed at all.

Cigarettes are addicting, just like drugs, and they'll gradually kill you too, so the legal age on smoking, in my opinion, is never. The voting age should remain 18. I think you should be at least 21 to be able to enlist in the military.

I understand that sometimes we need more soldiers than ever, but if you can't even drink before 21, is it at all logical that you can fight for your country, or enter training to do so, at as young as 17? I think when you can drive, you should be able to rent a car, so 16 on renting cars. Getting a hotel room should be a privilege of legal adults, so 18 on that.

I think most major rights, ones we look forward to having, should come only between the 16-21 range. Any younger is ridiculous, as is any older.

Isabelle Stillman, John Burroughs

I am eighteen years old. If I am allowed to vote and to risk my life for my country, I should be allowed to drink alcohol. My country trusts me to elect its leaders and to further its causes in war, and yet does not believe I am able to handle alcohol responsibly.

However, I believe the age to rent a car is right. Renting a car puts the property of one person in the hands of another. Therefore, the renter is responsible both for himself and for the property of someone else.

Spencer Desai, MICDS

I believe the logical age for drinking, voting, applying to the military, buying cigarettes, etc. should be 18. While many say that teenagers are not educated enough or developed enough to begin drinking at that age, which is not a very solid argument for many reasons.

The hard truth is, whether it is illegal or not, teenagers are going to drink so it does not really matter to them that they are not developed enough to do it. In fact, if drinking were legal then it could prevent many deaths. Many teenagers die every year because they need medical attention after drinking too much but their friends or even the drinker themselves are afraid to tell their parents and die as a result.

If it were legal, teens that need medical attention for drinking too much (which would happen less if drinking were legal) would be more inclined to tell their parents. To the argument that they are not educated enough, schools all over the country have countless presentations and classes to educate teens about the dangers of drinking and driving and by the time most people are 18, they are aware of the dangers. People will always be stupid enough to drink and drive, age makes no difference.

A trade-off for lowering the drinking age could be more strict laws and punishment for DUI and DWI, which I think there should be regardless of what the drinking age is. Another problem with the drinking age being so high is that it tempts people to want to do it more and makes it a bigger deal than it actually is. It is human nature to want to do things that are against the rules; it gives people a rare thrill that is almost addictive.

Take the prohibition in the 1920’s for example. When the United States government outlawed the selling, buying and consumption of alcohol in 1920, drinking became such a big deal for the next thirteen years that the United States lifted it in 1933. People were so tempted to drink and buy alcohol because it was against the law.

If drinking became legal it would become such less of a big deal. Take the entire continent of Europe for example. In Europe, drinking is not seen as such a big deal and rather than just another drink. There is less binge drinking there than in the United States. At the age of 18, people can already buy cigarettes, apply to join the military and vote but not to drink and to me that makes no sense what so ever.

Victoria Watson, Villa Duchesne

Right now, 18 is the legal age to vote, to enlist in the army without parental consent, to purchase tobacco, and to be tried as an adult in court. When all of these privileges are given at this age, one could assume that, by the time someone is 18, they are responsible enough to take care of themselves and make wise decisions.

With this being said, it raises the question of why the legal age for purchasing and possessing alcohol is 21.

I think of it as a paradoxical question of personal conduct; if one is responsible enough to be legally considered an adult, why are they not responsible enough to handle themselves with alcohol? I feel that there needs to be one standard age for responsibilities to be given to young men and women.

Molly Soto, St. Joseph's academy

I think the proper age for serving in the military is 18 but I think that voting, buying alcohol and tobacco should be 21 or even older. Serving in the military can be an option for a young man or woman out of high school. It can be a rewarding career and you can learn valuable skills including leadership, commitment, and responsibility.

Alcohol and tobacco are two things that can lead to the development bad habits and addictions that can be life threatening. It should be important that a proper age required to purchase these products is old enough so that the person is mature and fully understands the potential consequences of their consumption.

The proper age to vote is an ongoing debate. I think determining the age to vote should be more focused on the person’s knowledge of the election and the best interest of the country.

With this said, I believe the proper is 21 or 22 because you are old enough that you are out of college and can make an informed decision.