Zavala 1
Luis Zavala
Mr. Bennett
English 1301
28 Oct. 2010
Annotated Bibliography
1). "College Presidents Call for Debate On Lowering the Drinking Age to 18." Alcoholism
and Drug Abuse Weekly. 20.34. 8 Sept. 2008: 1-3. Web. Academic Search Complete. 23 Oct.
2010.
Summary: This story talks about how college presidents across the United States getting
together to set a discussion of lowering the drinking age. That because of the successful drive of
upholding the 21 year drinking age has lead college students to drink out of campus walls. It also
talks about organizations and state officials that won’t even consider debating over the issue.
That there are underlying reasons as to why these groups of people don’t want to lower the
drinking age, not because they are looking out for the well being of the young adults, but because
of the money they will lose if the law comes to pass. There also talk about some statistics that
show that not just drunk driving is a problem but also assaults and sexual assaults due to drinking
among the college students and binge drinking. They also mention the “drinking ID” idea that
that they “think” would help with under aged drinking.
Criticize: The author of this passage does a good job getting the information across. He also
does a good job going back and forth between groups that want to lower the drinking age and
those that don’t. He also backs up their reasons with information as to you why they feel that
way with scientific information on both sides. It opens your mind as to why this is such a big
issue and that it isn’t an easy “change the law” kind of problem. There are a lot of organizations
and people of all types that would be affected if they the law was to get passed.
Speculate: I indeed would like to use this passage for info for my paper. Not only does it already
have good information on both sides of the topic that I can use to back up my own opinions but
also opinions of the opposite viewpoint that I can use to argue against to get my reasoning
across. There are also ideas that are mentioned in this passage that I could look into to bring up
more points of argument that were mentioned lightly.
2). Dean-Mooney, Laura. "A Lower Age Would Be Unsafe". U.S. News & World Report.
145.6. 15 Sept. 2008: 10-10. Web. Academic Search Complete. 23 Oct. 2010.
Summary: This passage talks a little about the history of the 21 year old drinking age law that
was passed. How, since they passed law, the amount that alcohol related deaths from driving has
been reduced dramatically. The author talks a lot of all the research that has gone into the 21 law
and talks about how well it has done. It also mentions the debate from the college presidents that
want to lower the drinking age to 18. That MADD would not mind having a debate over the
Zavala 2
issue but that they would use information and statistics and that the fact is, that 21 law saves
lives and that it is not negotiable. She also talks about the reasons why lowering the drinking age
would be bad other than increased binge drinking but also problems with early alcoholism and
the damage the 18 year olds are going to do to their brains as they aren’t fully developed yet.
Criticize: The author of this passage is a mother of a college student that is about to leave for the
first year. She uses this to sympathize with all the parents that are going through the same thing
or will go through eventually. She doesn’t want the age to be lowered and uses good information
as well as talking about the history of the legal drinking age of 21. She talks about other reasons
why the drinking age of 21 benefits the young adults not only for saving lives on the road. She
throws a lot of numbers around to show exactly how many lives have been saved.
Speculate: I could use this information from this passage to help create my introduction
paragraph as introducing the history of the 21 age law. Also can use it to create other reasons
why it helps to keep the law at 21 not just for keeping the roads safer.
3). Hoover, Eric. “For MADD, the Drinking Age Is Not Up For Debate." Chronicle Of
Higher Education. 55.11. 7 Nov. 2008: A1-A31. Web. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23
Oct. 2010.
Summary: This passage talks about how one of the biggest organizations to combat for the
drinking age of 21 came to be. It talks about this organization called Choose Responsibility and
how it is just in the shadow of the monster MADD creates. Mentions how it just started out in a
small room of a 13 year old daughter that was killed by a drunk driver. How it grew
tremendously and how much of impact it has on the states and legislature. The angle of Choose
Responsibility is to lower the drinking age to 18 on certain states that show they can educate the
young adults and find means to control the drinking among them. Just think of Choose
Responsibility as the opposite of MADD but it has nowhere as much money or support that
MADD has so it’s difficult for them. MADD plans on keeping the drinking age 21 and won’t go
down without a fight if at all.
Criticize: This author doesn’t really have a tone for the passage. He just talks about the
story/history behind MADD and Choose Responsibility. How they came to be and what they aim
to do or have been able to accomplish. He doesn’t fight for one side of another it’s just being
informative.
Speculate: It is good as in good information as to how MADD came to be. What the story
behind their organization is and what everything they have done and came to be. I am not sure as
to how I can use this information but I am sure I can find something for it as I type my paper out.
4.) Nelson, Toben F., and Wechsler, Henry. "Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By
Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences
Among Youths." American Journal Of Public Health. 100.6 June 2010: 986-992. Web.
Academic Search Complete. 23 Oct. 2010.
Zavala 3
Summary: This passage has a lot of supportive data and information on lowering the drinking
age to 18. It starts off talking about the good points of having the drinking age of 21 but then it
switches and supports lowering it. Also mentions the organization of Choosing Responsibility
and introduces the Amethyst Initiative that is the agreement that college presidents and certain
officials have signed to bring up the debate of lowering the drinking age to 18. This is the force
that MADD and other organizations that are for keeping the age of 21 are going to have to
contend with. Choosing Responsibility and Amethyst Initiative is the biggest contender that
MADD and the others are going to have go against.
Criticize: The author does a good way of bring his argument across. He did a good way of
talking about the reasoning behind MADD and the law of the 21 drinking age. Also about the
lives that have been saved due to it. Then go off and brings up the counter argument and how it
hasn’t done anything to reduce the amount of drinking on college campuses and how it needs to
be re-thought out. He didn’t have a tone per say on the paper and was not aiming at a certain
group of people. He was just straight forward on his objective and getting the information across.
Speculate: Only way I can see using this information is to use his arguments that he mentioned
and using them to come up with a counter argument for my paper. He has some good examples
that I can fight against and back up with my own information as to why they drinking age should
not be lowered.
5.) CBSNewsOnline. "Drinking Age Debate." YouTube.com. Youtube.19 Feb. 2009. Web.
19 Oct. 2010.
Summary: The lady talks about the issue of lowering the drinking age of 21. She mentions the
concern of the college presidents and how they want to bring up the debate of considering to
lowering the drinking age. She talks about a particular student at one of the these campuses that
died from alcohol poisoning due to a hazing from a fraternity that he was wanting to get into.
That they didn’t take him to the hospital because he wasn’t of age to be drinking and did not
want to get into trouble. She brings up the topic of having licenses to be able to drink alcohol and
education.
Criticize: She did a good way of bringing her information across and was very clear in her
talking. She took a minute and listened to the opponent say his view on the situation and she did
well on giving an answer. She wasn’t very convincing in her way of trying to get people to get
lower the drinking age. Her example just makes colleges look dumb and the people who were
involved in the accident stupid for letting the kid die instead of getting help for the maybe fine or
day in jail they might have gotten.
Speculate: The video wasn’t very long but there is some information I could use in my paper. I
can use her example that she used and use it in my paper but for the opposite reason. The reason
she used doesn’t help anything in the cause. Just makes the scenario of college drinking bad and
supports the idea that even if they drinking age of 18 was approved, that fraternities could still
have pledges binge drink. Lowering the age won’t stop it.
Zavala 4
6.) CBS. "Lower Drinking Age Proposal." YouTube.com Youtube. 18 Feb. 2009. Web. 23
Oct. 2010
Summary: Reporter talking to some students asking about their view points on the issue. Some
said that it would be good to lower the drinking age others said how they would be worried about
their siblings if it were to come pass. One student said how her brother was already crazy as it is
and that it would be even worse to allow him to drink at the age of 18. She talked to a member of
MADD and she said how they were some states that lowered their drinking age to 18 and that the
drunk driving increased and they increased the age back to 21. That this issue is a cause and
effect problem and they don’t lives lost just to see if it would work this time around.
Criticize: The reporter did a good way of asking groups of students to see what they think of the
issue. The ones who said they should lower the drinking age looked like they party hard anyways
and I don’t want to generalize people, but they were all guys, college guys, jocks, etc. The
opposing group of students seemed to be more organized in the way of their thinking more aware
of what would happen if they drinking age was lowered. That is it isn’t just a “the man is just
trying keeping us from partying” and that’s why they don’t want to lower the drinking age but
they are saving lives!
Speculate: This little story brings into the light just what kind of students and people want to
lower the drinking age to 18 and to be honest I do not think they have thought it through. I can
use this group of people to show just what kind of people are trying to fight to lower the drinking
age: people in bars or the mothers and parents and siblings looking out for their family’s
wellbeing.
7.) ReasonTV. "21: Is It Time to Lower the Drinking Age?" YouTube.com. Youtube. 7
April 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2010
Summarize: The story starts off in this small town of Menomonie, Wisconsin. Talks to some of
the students of the University of Stout and then interviews one of the owners of one of the bars in
the town. How business has changed since the state has changed the law back in 1986. He
mentions how business has gone down since then. They also interview the founder of “Choose
Responsibility” John McCardell and he talks about his mission statement of lowering the
drinking age of 21 with the help of informed adults and students to be able to drinking
responsible. They interview as well the police of the town who have sting operations that catch
under aged drinkers in the bars. That they fine the drinkers and bar owners but will make a deal
with the accused to help the police catch other under aged drinkers. They tried to talk to the
police and officials but they wouldn’t talk to them. They said the reasoning behind it was due
because that the enforcement of the drinking age is a cash cow for them. They brought up the
Amethyst Initiative again that’s just a paper that people are signing to bring up the debate of
lowering the drinking age. They talk about how come you can do these other things like serve in
a jury, take out a loan, etc but you can’t buy a beer. Talks about how the driving fatalities have
dropped in all states over the last 25 years which means that it must not be just the drinking age
but other factors that go into it.
Zavala 5
Criticize: This video/interview covers a lot of information and interviews important members of
both MADD and the Choosing Responsibility campaigns. They both have their own reasoning
and back them up. The kids who they interviewed that say it should be lowered again are people
who like to party and what not. The interviewer asked good questions to both sides of the playing
field to hear their response to the problem.
Speculate: This video had some very good questions and gave me a good outline for how I can
set up my paper. Shows that an argument/rebuttal, argument/rebuttal, etc style paper will work
well for this topic. I can compare MADD and Choosing Responsibility after watching this video
on their viewpoints.
8.) SheerMadness1002. "21 and Wasted: The American Drinking Age." YouTube.com.
Youtube. 11 Oct. 2008. Web. 23 Oct 2010.
Summary: This video talks about how keeping the drinking age at 21 hasn’t helped and kept the
younger adults from drinking. They are interviewing a psychologist and he explains that when
you prohibit a person from doing something it causes them to do it still but at even a more
escalated state. That it’s a natural human intention to crave the effects that drug and alcohol
brings them. This video brings up the idea that parents should teach their kids more responsible
drinking that it will help them when they get older. They talk to different students from other
countries where they age is lower. The psychologist talks about that because they prohibit
drinking at a younger age that it causes them to do it even more, that it puts the alcohol on a
pedestal. This video also shows old and outdated anti-drinking ads from TV. It even shows how
easily a under aged guy gets a case of beer from the store and they record it.
Criticize: This looks like a video made by a student for a class, the information that he gathers
doesn’t very accountable. The views from the students are kids who seem like they don’t care for
rules or regulations and just like to have a good time.
Speculate: I don’t think I will be using this video in my paper as the information just seems too
scattered and not very dependable.