Quote:
Originally posted by Taualumna
I don't know. In Europe, the drinking age is 18 (or sometimes, even 16), and they have fewer issues than in English speaking countries. If kids are told that moderate drinking is ok, and are taught properly, then there'll be fewer issues.
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A friend of mine worked in Europe over the summer and she said that the young people over there weren't nearly as crazy about alcohol as they are here.
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I'm not sure where in Europe your friend worked, but I don't agree with you on this. Because students aren't in session over the summer, that may have affected your friend's observations.
I lived in England for a long while and I routinely saw drunken groups of young people and university students doing dumb stuff. (Driving through the city centre at 2am was a disgusting sight sometimes.) As a matter of fact, my university's athletic union has an annual "sports initiation night" for everyone on a sports team. That event is a HUGE MEGA GIGANTIC risk management nightmare. Here I was this American student affairs professional and I was totally shocked and horrified by what the university/student's union allowed on campus property.
I lived a block away from one of the town's favourite streets for pub crawling and I cannot agree that European people are better at handling alcohol because they were taught better at an earlier age.
If anything, it was the 18 - 21 year olds who caused the most disruption and damage. They seemed to have less maturity and good-judgement than the "older" crowd.
.....Kelly
