Time to change law

New Georgia law to allow underage adults serve alcohol should bring change

One of the biggest issues the University faces is underage drinking. Cramming over 33,000 young adults – many of whom have only just graduated high school and are experimenting with new freedoms – into such a concentrated area is a perfect breeding ground for illicit activities.

This allows us to discover our strengths and weaknesses, particularly in regards to booze.

It’s no secret that underage drinking is rampant despite attempts to prevent it.

The Georgia Supreme Court’s recent decision to allow people 18 and up to work in businesses that serve alcohol is just one more way underage people can get their hands on liquor.

The chances of an 18-year-old bartender not sampling the wares he is doling out are slim to none.

And we’re not so sure that this is a bad thing.

It’s naive to think that everyone is going to wait until their 21st birthday to try a sip of hooch just because there’s a law forbidding it. There are laws against killing people too, but that still happens – even though the consequences for such a crime are much more grave.

While there are scientific arguments that the brain is not fully developed until the age of 21, it seems unlikely that once someone hits that age their brain is done developing. And based on the biological growth argument, shouldn’t men have to wait longer to drink and vote since science says that women develop faster?

There are flaws in every argument for and against lowering the drinking age.

But since these laws do little to actually prevent underage drinking, the government needs to either adjust to the reality of the times or up the ante and work harder to enforce the existing laws.

The Supreme Court’s newest ruling is taking us one step closer to lowering the drinking age.

By allowing 18-year-olds to bartend and work in institutions – such as strip clubs – where alcohol is served, it seems as though we could be on our way to buying drinks all around.

-Megan Otto for the editorial board