Study anthropology in search of universal human truths and one of the only behaviors you won’t find some exception to is that every culture has some form of alcohol.

Drinking is a social thing in our country and all over the world. A study by the Journal of Labor Research last Thursday concluded that drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more money from their jobs than non-drinkers, because we’re more social.

Matt, you focus on legality, so you condone splicing the college community into people under 21 and people over 21? Never mind that 18, 19, and 20-year-olds share classes and clubs, and find intellectual equals across age lines. In nearly every other aspect, an 18-year-old is an adult. The church even thinks you’re an adult after you study and confirm your faith in 8th grade. Yet you’re still not fully capable of making your own decisions until you’re 21, according to the government.

In 1984, the drinking age was raised to 21 because the federal government withheld money for interstates from states where the age was lower. It’s just as arbitrary and impractical as telling a 24-year-old he’s still not old enough to rent a car.

I bet if 18 and 19-year-olds were getting married in droves without their parents’ consent, there would probably be a law raising that age too.

If you want to focus on the negatives of alcohol, focus on drunk driving and consumption of alcohol by high-schoolers and younger. Please don’t wrap up responsible, social drinking by adults with these other behaviors.

You’re a freshman in college. Why don’t you wait a couple years to be this judgmental of your peers?

Elaine PhillipsSophomore, history