Page 6 Eve Underage Drinking... What's your view? By Judith Bowker-Lion's Eye Editor in Chief-jlb5S706@psu.edu I can vote. I can go to war. I can smoke tobacco. What is one more thing I should be allowed to do when I turn 18? How many of us spend those last couple years of being a teen holding our breaths until the day we turn 21? And honestly, there are more than enough of us who really don’t care because, well, we have been drinking since high school (or dare I say middle school?) And to be very honest, I am one of those who lean toward the latter, but I have some strong feelings towards the former. Being 21 does not affect the availability of alcohol to me. Instead, what it does, is torture my social life. I am 20 years old and most of my clos- est friends are already 21, so you can see where this is going. Thursday night through Saturday night, from 9-11, I am great and having a good time. Howev- er, the witching hour comes and everyone heads out to the bars and me? Well, I have to say my farewells and go to the party I am surrounded by people who are all younger than me. It really is a rough life. Based on my family background, being mostly Irish, drinking has always been a major factor in our family activities and get-togethers. So it probably comes as no surprise when I tell you drinking started at a young age for me. Now I am not telling you my parents would hand me a beer or order me drinks when we were out, but alcohol was never a hidden issue for me growing up. Some people may look down upon this, but I would bet plenty understand where I am coming from. In fact, I would argue that being introduced to alcohol at a younger age has made me not care so much about it now. Most of you know what I’m talk- ing about, but let me clarify a bit by explaining what life was like for me when I went away to school for the first time. Let’s start off by saying it was definitely an eye opener. Going out the first weekend of school you could absolutely tell the kids who walked the “edge” in high school versus the ones who had a very sheltered childhood. The signs were there, and it was apparent where people fell in these categories of students. Probably the biggest signal of the sheltered kid? The girl who is passed out, falling all over the place, or even throwing up by 11 p.m., while the rest of her friends are just getting ready to go out to our first bar, club, or party after a couple hours of pre-gaming. However, let me set the record straight. This is not to say that I believe that if someone does not drink before they are 21 there is something wrong with them. On the contrary, I actually give them some major props for not falling into any peer pressure they may come across while they were in high school and definitely now while in college. But I do think that not having any exposure to alcohol often times, tends to make people go to the opposite end of the spectrum when they are finally faced with it, head on. It is said that more than 16,000 people die every year due to car acci- dents involving alcohol and drugs. Also within the past month statistics showed that 26.4% of children, ages 12-20, partook in underage drinking. I’m sure that many of you have had the very popular discussion of lowering the drinking age to 18. I support this idea as well. I firmly believe that if the drinking age were to be lowered, there would absolutely be a couple of years where things are a little out of hand. However, in lowering the legal drinking age to 18, I think it would rectify a lot of issues with exposure, ac- ceptance, and education. Besides, 18 would become the new 21, and then, like turning 21, people will adore being legal for a couple months or a couple years, and then it will be something that is overrated. If, at 18, we can vote, fight on the front line for the military, and smoke; why can we not drink? Two out of the three legal things we can partake in at the age of 18 are two things that put our lives at stake. With that said... what are your views? Se EE A Campus News Editor- Rob Ewing Local/World News Editor- Dave Serpentine : Lion’s E e Op/Ed Editor- Editorial Board of The! babi Ppan edu, I The Lions Eye is published bi-weekly. by the students of Penn State Brandy I wine, Media, PA. wine does not necessarily represent o endorse the accuracy or reliability o information, opinion con tent, or views set forth in the Editorials Opinions section of this publication The Lion's Eye welcomes both guest edi torials and letters to the editor. Letter. must be no more than 200 words and ad: dress a single topic or theme, and con tain contact information of the author. Guest articles can be up to 500 words The editorial board reserves the right to edit letters and guest articles for space. purposes and content. Please send al. editorial and guest correspondence to Entertainment Editor(s) - Kelly Crawford, Caitlin Hazinsky MISSION STATEMENT Generation Editor - Brittney Walker | We are the newspaper of th Bany of the penn State Brandywine campus | serving the students, adminis tration, faculty, staff, and visi tors of our campus. We vow t ‘inform all of our audiences, and pve will strive to make each issu better, so that we remain a vita [part of the Penn State Brandy wine experience. We also pledg to be professional, and to follow the highest standards of quality } journalism. Sports Editor- Kevin Cress Advertising/ Distribution- Nick Cerrato Contributing Staff Writers: Martina Delgado, Ryann O’Donnell, Kait McDyre, Lee Burpee, Sean Morgan, David Hoffer, Emily Cleveland, David ‘Dolan, Nicole Fedora, Christine Hughes,| Katie Koelewyn, Kenny Lankford, Megan Draper, John Henry, Paolo DiPaolo: Lion’s Eye Adviser- Karrie Bowen kab44@psu.edu. Contact the Lion’s Eye: Judith Bowker jIb5706@psu.edu Karrie Bowen - kab44@psu.edu For advertising information, please contact Karri Bowen at 610.892.1336 or The Lion’s Eye March 2, 2011 on Editorials Disgruntled Fat Girl The Living, Breathing Omnivore By Karrie Bowen Lion's Eye Advisor kab44@psu.edu Last weekend, my parents and I had a heated debate over purchasing meat. Living in rural Bradford County, it is a very com- monplace for people to have huge gardens and to stock their freezers by way of their local farmer. My family is no exception. Every year, my parents always buy a steer, a pig, and occasionally a lamb from the local 4H kids or from a farmer that they know. My mom grows a huge garden from which everyone eats all summer, and she freezes and cans from it as well to stock up for the winter months. So I was surprised when both of them tried to tell me there is no difference between the cow they purchase for slaughter and the stuff that is sitting in the meat section at the local super- market. “Yes there is!” 1told them. “The stuff you buy is grass fed about 80 percent of the year. The junk in the supermarket is corn- fed from day one and usually comes off some feed lot in Kansas!” They insisted there was no differ- ence, and I insisted there was. My dad called me a tree-hugger (I am) and my mother told me that while my feelings are admirable, sometimes it just has to be about price and you have to buy what you can afford. To this I say “Bah!” It is never ac- ceptable for me to acquiesce to something in which I don’t believe. So instead, I have cho- sen to pinch my pennies elsewhere so that my family and I can eat well. And if that means $10.99 a pound for hamburger, so be it. I could be a vegetarian for a lot of reasons, and none of them revolve around the fact that it is “healthier” or because I believe it unethical to slaughter animals. Mostly I could be a vegetarian because I really love fruits and veggies and a lot of other foods aren’t my cup of tea. However, if we are looking at the eth- ics surrounding animals as food, I do have an opinion. All I ask is that the farmer is simply respectful of animal life. Let me explain what I mean. Respect for animal life, to me, means that I am respectful of the fact that an animal is a living breathing creature and it should at least be afforded a clean pen, sanitary drinking water, access to wind and grass and sunshine, and be appreciated for its very existence. I Penn State Brandy recognize that there is a need in our food chain for animal protein, so all I ask, as a consumer of that protein, is that it be raised and slaugh- tered the most ethical ways available. Feed lots are not ethical, and neither are the killing practices of many commercial slaughterhous- es. Many vegans and vegetarians jump onto the bandwagon and cite that a vegetarian diet is “better.” The never-ending flow of diet culture screams constantly that eliminating meat is the way to take care of the obesity cri- sis, or the heart disease crisis, or the diabetes crisis, or whatever other health crisis we face in America. Oprah recently had her whole staff go vegan for a week because of claims from a variety of pop-culture doctors that “vegan is better.” I would make the argument that there is value in being an omnivore. There is a lot of evidence which demonstrates that human biology benefits from eating animal protein. I would argue strongly that eating meat is not a problem. It is just the opposite, in fact. Meat is an excellent source of protein and miner- als. Instead, I believe that combining ethically raised animal protein with healthy and whole, real food is where we need to make changes in order to take care of our health. Instead of eliminating, we should, instead, focus on buying meats that have been raised with health in mind. This means that they have not been given antibiotics, and more importantly, that they have been fed their natu- ral diet of grass. The vegetarian lifestyle gives us insights into the importance of fresh pro- duce in our diet. But being a carnivore is also important too, because animal protein gives you more proverbial bang for your nutritional buck. It provides the human body with a more readily available source of protein than grains or beans, and let’s be honest here. Chicken and steak and mahi-mabhi are good. I am not out to preach. I am just talking for my own sake. I am not out to push one type of diet over another either. If people want to be veggie, or vegan, or omnivore or carnivore, that is on them. But don’t say it is for health reasons. Say it is because you have a really deep love for furry, four-legged friends. Because that is ok too. Photo courtesy daisygreenmagazine.com
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