99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall: Definition of the Controversy

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Alcohol has been around for centuries, and people to this day try to determine how much is too much. During the early 1900’s, Congress ratified the 18th Amendment to the Constitution stating that all sale, production, and consumption of alcohol was banned. This was known as Prohibition. The legislation was enacted in an effort to clean up society. As the Great Depression crept into United States history in the late 1920’s, Prohibition became very unpopular. Even back then, authorities could not keep alcohol out of the hands of society. Illegal dealings began to take place to distribute and sell alcohol. In 1933, the 18th Amendment was repealed.

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During the Vietnam War, the idea of a legal drinking age being 21 came into question. The argument was if men the age of 18 or older are allowed to vote and serve in war, then they should also be permitted to drink alcohol. During that era, the drinking age was lowered to 18 years. But, due to the increase in car accidents, the drinking age was raised back to 21 through the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. The Act states:

"The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 required all states to raise their minimum purchase and public possession of alcohol age to 21. States that did not comply faced a reduction in highway funds under the Federal Highway Aid Act. The U.S. Department of Transportation has determined that all states are in compliance with this act"(U.S Dept of Transportation).

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Nowadays, the problem is not so much keeping the alcohol away from society as it is keeping it out of the hands of those under 21. Most college students are right at the edge of the legal age, but that doesn’t stop them. On college campuses across the country, underage drinking is becoming a serious problem. Students have a perception of college life as one big party like it is portrayed in movies such as Animal House and music like Asher Roth’s “I Love College.” Students come into college thinking that everyone is experimenting with drugs and alcohol, which simply isn’t true.

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Several researchers have come up with potential solutions. For example, Henry Wechsler, a social psychologist at Harvard University, wants to implement a prevention program known as “environmental protection”(Park 1). This program would attack all that promoted alcohol to underage drinkers such as local bars and liquor advertisers. The program would provide dorms that are free of alcohol. Wechsler wants to keep alcohol as hidden from those under 21 as possible. This includes training restaurants how to handle underage drinkers and going after businesses that break the minimum drinking age laws.

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Another approach is the “social norms” strategy. This program would serve as a campaign to inform students that their peers do not consume as much alcohol as it appears in the media.This method was introduced by H. Wesley Perkins and Alan D. Berkowitz. Berkowitz describes the definition of the social norms strategy by stating, "our behavior is influenced by incorrect perceptions of how other members of our social groups think and act." This method is based on the effects of peer pressure. Berkowitz states, "Social norms interventions focus on peer influences, which have a greater impact on individual behavior than biological, personality, familial, religious, cultural and other influences." This strategy depends on changing the way incoming college students see the party atmosphere. Social norms would try to bring truth to the misperceptions of college drinking by showing students that not all of their peers participate in this illegal behavior.