[SOPi_Jawbreaker]

I don't think we can stop binge drinking with any simple solution such as lowering the drinking age. As SigmaPezY60 mentioned earlier, we are a very over-indulgent society. There are many incoming freshmen that think college is going to be wild parties, lots of sex, and excesses in general. They think it's going to be Animal House, Old School, Van Wilder, etc. all rolled into one. And if that's what they're looking for, they can find it. When my parents' friends ask me about Penn State (because they're worried about their high school senior who is going there next year), I tell them that Penn State is what you make of it (as is every other college). If they want to party every night and not study and not go to class and fail classes, that's their choice. If they want to work hard and excel in their classes, that's also their choice. They are going to be adults. No one is going to hold their hand and make sure they go to class and do their homework. And so, I think the only way to prevent binge drinking (as well as drug use and unsafe sex) is to educate young people about the consequences and to teach them to make wise, healthy decisions. I think a big part of that is parents explicitly sharing their values with their children, letting their children know what is expected of them (such as no drug use, no underage drinking, drinking in moderation, no pre-marital sex, no unprotected sex, etc.)

Using Penn State as an example, there are plenty of people over 21 that binge drink. It's not a matter of a certain number being the magic age. It's about teaching young people to be mature, independent thinkers. And it's about teaching young people to deal with their problems in healthy ways (exercise, talking to friends, talking to parents, going for a walk to calm down, etc.) rather than using alcohol or drugs to deal with stress and hurt feelings. One of my best friends from freshmen year had been through rehab, had been bulimic, and had been a cutter. And she said it had been because she felt like she had no one to talk to and she felt like her mom had been too busy for her. And through rehab, she realized that drugs weren't the solution. She was just numbing herself. Her problems were still always there. She still felt neglected and alone, and she had to confront her mom and tell her all these things she was feeling. And afterwards, she was more able to talk to her mom about whatever was bothering her. They talked on the phone all the time, and whenever she was having a conflict about anything, she would call her mother up. So, I think communication is the biggest key and that parents can the biggest positive influence if the lines of communication are open.