Critical Response

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Critical response

The thesis statement of the article is, ‘discouraging college drinking by increasing the drinking age.' Andrew Herman has emphasized on reconsidering the legal drinking age for eliminating college drinking. The central argument of the author states that drinking is inappropriate for college or school students because it involves many adverse outcomes. College life provides ample opportunities for drinking that makes it difficult for anyone to refrain from alcohol. Students start drinking before the age of 21 in social settings and neglect their consequences. The article stresses on adopting an effective policy framework for raising the age of drinking. This is the most effective solution for controlling or discouraging alcohol use among students.

Availability of alcohol at college parties increases the likelihood of drinking in students.

Herman mentions, "nearly everyone is exposed to parties during college, and one would be hard pressed to find a college party without alcohol." The argument states that the availability of alcohol at campuses and parties is unnecessary so actions must be taken for eliminating such practice. The laws have set a legal drinking age that acts in a way for promoting the use of alcohol. Herman has criticized the laws on alcohol and consider them as weak and flawed. Better laws would consider increasing the drinking age. Due to the availability of alcohol a senior student is free to offer a drink to a younger student. This will motivate a non-alcoholic student to become an alcoholic. The purpose of the article is to evaluate the negative role of opportunity. The author argues that the only way of controlling alcohol is by eliminating the opportunity. The laws when raising drinking age it will make illegal for all college students to consume alcohol. For keeping it away from young students, it is important to restrict all pupils in the college.

The use of logos strengthens the debate of the author. Herman has supported his argument of excessive drinking by providing factual information, he states, "every year 1400 college students die from drinking" (Herman). This exhibits the adversities of alcohol and the need for raising the drinking age. The inclusion of facts has permitted the author to add evidentiary support that makes his argument valid. He further claims that excessive use of alcohol promotes other activities such as physical assaults. He mentions facts, 6,000 are victims of alcohol-related physical assaults" (Herman). Factual information adds the possibilities of persuading audience because it exhibits the author’s expertise on the topic CITATION Lau10 \l 1033 (Kirszner & Mandel, 2010).

The decision of raising the age of drinking is a practical decision for saving the lives of young people. The continuous use of rhetoric tools like ethos, pathos, and logos allowed Herman to prove the validity of his argument. Pathos is visible in the text, "we must take a stand, and we must do it now" (Herman). He aims at convincing the audience about the need for taking action for the welfare and safety of the people. This evokes emotions by appealing the ego of readers. Making them responsible for the lives of youth, builds continuous interaction of Herman with the readers CITATION Jos071 \l 1033 (Labrie, Hummer, & Pedersen, 2007).

Increased dependence of students on alcohol increase the risks of deaths, physical assaults and diseases. the most effective solution for controlling the use of alcohol among youth is by increasing the drinking age to 25. Youth having ages below 25 can improve their health and academic performance by avoiding alcohol. the laws must focus on eliminating the availability of alcohols from campuses. Alcohol consumption can only be discouraged by eliminating its availability.

References

Kirszner, L. G., & Mandel, S. R. (2010). Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology. Bedford/St. Martin's.

Labrie, J. W., Hummer, J. F., & Pedersen, .. E. (2007). Reasons for Drinking in the College Student Context: The Differential Role and Risk of the Social Motivator*. J Stud Alcohol Drugs, 68(3), 393–398.