Don’t lower the age; uptown bars are crowded enough already

The current law that says one must be 21 to drink is reasonable and fair and should not change. Yes, when someone turns 18, he or she is a legal adult. Eighteen-year-olds are capable of getting credit cards, buying cigarettes and voting; drinking legally, however, should not be one of their options. If the state of Ohio allowed people aged 18 and older into the bars and also let them drink alcohol, we'd see some big problems.

One issue with Ohio changing its law to permit 18-year-olds to drink alcohol is overcrowding. Most of the bars uptown are already very small and at least half the size of bars on High Street at Ohio State University. On any weekend night, groups of partygoers line up outside of the bars' doors waiting to get inside. The lines typically consist of 21-year-olds and older people with the occasional underage person using a fake ID; allowing 18-to 20-year-olds to drink will only overcrowd the bars more than they are already.

Overcrowding isn't limited to what you see on the outside of the bars once inside, the bar is a swaying crowd of people desperately trying to get drinks, go to the bathroom, find their lost girlfriend, or leave for another bar. If the legal drinking age were 18, waiting for an available bartender to take the drink order would seem like forever. It probably would be forever with an increase in people going uptown to drink. Bathroom lines would be never ending, especially the women's stalls. Forget games like darts and pool; not only would the waiting lists be 20 people long, there wouldn't be any space to play them.

Changing the drinking age to 18 brings up another issue whether most 18-year-olds are even mature enough to handle legally drinking. People usually turn 18 their senior year of high school or early in their freshman year at college. At that point in their lives, they're already going through new adventures graduation, living away from home and everything that goes along with college. By the time people turn 21, they have matured substantially, just through various life expenses along with oncoming graduation and the job market.

As a result of not being as mature as most 21-year-olds, letting 18-year-olds legally drink probably will increase the number of drunken-driving arrests. At that age, some people don't realize the consequences of getting behind the wheel even after they've had a couple drinks. Driving from Pawpurr's Bar to Martzholf Hall on South Green isn't as easy as it seems after throwing a few brews back. Aside from arrests, drunken-driving accidents may also increase, which is dangerous for everyone.

If the state of Ohio changed the drinking law age from 21 to 18, there would not only be an inconvenience for others out bar-hopping but it could potentially be dangerous.