Article #3: Two Sides

These are the notes on my 3rd (and maybe final) article. This article was on the debate about drinking age (again,) and had really good information on both sides of the controversy.

Margaret

Mrs. Zurkowski

Purples

27 September 2010

Underage Binge Drinking

Gathering Information- Notes

"Alcohol Issues." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 20 Feb. 1998. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0300380>.

·         Roderic Park (chancellor of the University of Colorado) suggests that states should “focus on teaching students to drink responsibly” rather than trying to stop them all together.

o   He also suggests that states “issue “learner's permits" that allow people to drink alcohol after they complete intensive educational programs about drinking, similar to the way states issue driver's licenses.”

·         Supporters of the lower drinking age say that the higher drinking age simply forces the drinking “underground,” where it cannot be supervised

o   They argue that the lower drinking age would let the students drink openly under the supervision of school officials

o   David Hanson (a sociology professor) says “We have driven them off campus, so now we have no control over their drinking.”

o   Hanson also says that when students are unsupervised, "they're much more likely to engage in drinking games, which encourage rapid consumption of large quantities of alcohol,"

·         Supporters also say that if the drinking age were lowered, colleges could focus on encouraging students to drink in moderation, “rather than…an unrealistic request to abstain from alcohol completely

BUT

·         Opponents say that a lower drinking age would raise rates of drunk-driving and give new life to “blood borders”

·         “Many college administrators argue that limiting access to alcohol remains the best and most effective way to discourage binge drinking.”

·         Colleges cannot succeed in their battle to stop underage drinking unless they get the help of their communities

·         Another successful way of cracking down on underage drinkers is by passing “zero-tolerance laws” on drivers under the age of 21

OTHER FACTS

·         “76% of high school students drink alcohol”

·         Almost 30% of seniors in high school binge drink

o   This is a much higher rate than in adults

Image Source: http://www.europeword.com/blog/tag/drinking-age/

Article #2: A Serious Issue

Notes on my second research article. This was an opinion article on how parents need to treat binge drinking and drinking in general as a more serious problem, or at least start seeing it as a serious a problem as illegal drugs.

Margaret

Mrs. Zurkowski

Purples

26 September 2010

Underage Binge Drinking

Gathering Information- Notes

"Treat binge drinking as a drug problem." Christian Science Monitor 8 Sept. 2006: 08. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 26 Sept. 2010.

·         Binge drinking rates among ages 12 to  20 are about twice the rates of drug use in that age range

·         “Communities trying to keep kids away from alcohol say many parents simply don’t treat [binge drinking] as seriously as they do drugs.”

·         A supervisor in Sioux Falls, SD says that some parents, when they find out that their children are drinking “‘…are relieved [their kids] aren’t using drugs. ‘It’s just alcohol’.’”

·         People who start drinking before 15 “are 5 times more likely to develop serious alcohol problems later on.”

·         Underage drinking usually involves large quantities of alcohol

·         “School antidrug and anti-alcohol programs are undermined if laws aren’t adequately enforced and parents take a cavalier attitude toward drinking as a rite of passage…”

·         Parents are largely ignorant to the presence of drugs and alcohol at parties, even supervised ones

·         Alcohol can harm mental capacity

·         There is a large availability of both drugs and alcohol to underage students

·         “[Parents] need to become as concerned about alcohol as they are about drugs.”

Article #1: Drinking Age

This was the first article that I read for my English paper. This article told about the Amethyst Initiative, a petition to lower the legal drinking age, but also about why research shows that this may not be the solution to our problems.

Margaret

Mrs. Zurkowski

Purples

24 September 2010

Underage Binge Drinking

Gathering Information-Notes

Main, Carla T. "Underage Drinking and the Drinking Age." Policy Review. Jun/Jul 2009: 33-46. SIRS  Researcher. Web. 22 Sep 2010.

·         The Amethyst Initiative- a petition signed by many college students and professors to lower the legal drinking age to 18, or at least make some exceptions

·         It claims that with the drinking age at 18, binge drinking will severely decline because the allure of illegality will be gone

BUT

·         In the military and in places where it is legal for them to drink, 14 to 18 year olds “guzzle apace”

·          “Fifteen percent of all 18-to-25-year-olds binge drink.”

·         Some claim that college drinking is so common anyway, that it has already lost all intrigue

·         On average, 1,400 college students die alcohol-related death and 1,100 of these deaths are from drinking and driving

·         Drinking normally doesn’t start in college.

o   1/3 of America’s youth have their first drink before 13

o   Many of these children have established drinking patterns by 8^th to 10^th grade

·         “Among college students, 80 percent reported drinking, and of those 40 percent binge drink once a month.”

OTHER FACTS

o   Binge drinking (generally five drinks or more) brings the blood alcohol to

about 0.08 gram percent.

o   “…violates criminal laws to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 gram

 percent or above.”

Image Source: http://www.health.state.ny.us/statistics/chac/general/binge_drinking_hs.htm

Research Project, Part Deux

This week, we are working on a research project that has to do with the summer reading book that we chose this summer. One of the social issues that was addressed in Dramarama was underage drinking, so for my topic, I chose the most common form of underage drinking. This is called Binge Drinking. (The paragraph in the post before this has basic information on the topic.) These are three research questions that I created to help with this project.

1. What are the major risks and consequences of teen binge drinking?
2. How common is underage binge drinking and when and where does it usually occur?
5. What are some common reasons that teens binge drink?

Research Project, Part 1

This is the beginning of a research project that we are starting to go along with our summer reading book. One of the issues in Dramarama is underage drinking, so I chose teen binge drinking as my topic. Here's the first part of the assignment...

Margaret

Mrs. Zurkowski

Purples

13 September 2010

Book: Dramarama by E. Lockhart

Topic: Teen Binge Drinking

Search Terms: “Teen Alcohol Abuse”

“Teen Binge Drinking”

“Binge Drinking Effects”

“National Institute on Alcohol Abuse”

“Underage Drinking Studies”

“Binge Drinking Definition”

“Binge Drinking Risks”

Teenage Binge Drinking

                One of the social issues that plays a part in the book Dramarama by E. Lockhart is underage drinking. The most common form of teen drinking is binge drinking. Binge drinking is usually defined by having five or more drinks on one occasion for men, or four or more drinks for women. Heavy binge drinking is having three or more of these episodes within the space of 2 weeks (http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/alcohol/binge_drink.html?tracking=T_RelatedArticle). In one study, over half of the high school students participating in the study who had consumed alcohol in the past thirty days reported binge drinking. The study also showed that the binge drinkers were more likely to show poor school performance and participate in other dangerous activities, such as riding in a car with someone who had been drinking than students who had only had one or two drinks. It did not matter whether the binge drinkers were nondrinkers otherwise or frequent drinkers. (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/119/1/76). This issue is very prominent in today’s society, where many underage people drink alcohol. I think that this needs to be stopped, or at least that the people who make the choice to drink need to know all the risks and perhaps make the right choice and refuse the drink.

::Picture Source: http://www.laurenbdavis.com/blog/::

More Dramarama...

More about Summer Reading. This was kind of a fun assignment, where we had to write a friendly letter to the main character of our book. (By the way, the picture is of my friends and I sailing near their Island in Canada)

Dear Sadye,

My name is Margaret and this summer, I read about your exciting trip to Wildewood Summer Institute in Dramarama by E. Lockhart. Being the drama fan that I am, I was very jealous that you got to go to the camp. I am a freshman at The John Carroll School , and I am hoping to try out for one of their musicals this year. While I was reading about your incredibly razzle-dazzle filled summer, I had a somewhat fantastic summer as well. Right after school let out, my Mom and I traveled to Prince Edward Island in Canada. After we came home, I pretty much just chilled at the pool and went to tons of birthday parties for a month or two, until we went back to Canada (the Thousand Islands this time) to visit friends. I also read tons of other books that were full of even more characters with drama-filled lives like yours.

Now, let’s look back to your summer. I think that meeting Demi was incredibly lucky. You two were the perfect pair for as long as your friendship lasted, except for one thing. In everything that happened at Wildewood, you needed to stop being so controlling! You were driving everyone crazy, and even though many of your ideas were great, you should have presented them in a way that didn’t make everyone else involved feel downright dumb. As the summer went on, you just got more and more controlling, and maybe that’s why some people drifted away from you. Demi was finally able to show his true self at Wildewood, so you should have let him be happy in that. Overall, I thought the book was fantastic, except for the fact that the ending did not live up to the standards that the rest of the book had set. It seemed very incomplete and left me wondering what exactly just happened.

I thought that the author of your book, E. Lockhart, wrote your character very realistically. You had flaws, just like everyone, and a lot of the things that you felt were really believable and easy to connect with, even if they sort of made me want to slap you sometimes. Many of the problems that you faced, like your troubles with friendships, were just like the ones that everybody faces, though they were a little more dramatic.  I guess that’s why they call it Drama Camp, huh? The writing style was also very good.

When you and Demi got caught on the roof, I thought that what you did was incredibly kind. Even though I don’t think you guys should have been sneaking around with alcohol, he had much more to lose than you, and I think you did the right thing. It must have been really difficult for you to learn that he was leaving Brenton, after having him there for such a short time, but I hope you could see that he was truly happy there with Lyle.


The social issues in your story were made very easy to relate to by the author. I think awareness about these issues is already very high. I mean, pretty much everyone has friendships and struggles with identity, right? However, this book did make me think more about who I am and who I want to be. It was also very meaningful to me for this summer, because my friendships were shifting and changing, and I had to choose the ones that I was going to work to keep. In regard to your friendships, I would suggest just thinking hard about which friendships you really wand to keep, and work hard to stay in touch with those people.


I’m sorry that everything didn’t turn out exactly the way that you wanted, but I also hope that you can see that a lot of it was for the best. Demi found himself, and you found a little of yourself too in that huge whirlwind of drama. You met new friends, lost new friends, and kept some that mattered. Best wishes, and may your life be more razzle-dazzle filled than ever before!

Sincerely Yours,

Margaret

Some Summer Reading...

For school this year, I read two books. (plus tons of others for me!) One was the Hate List by Jennifer Brown, and the one that I chose was Dramarama by E. Lockhart. Seeing that I'm a Drama enthusiast, this seemed like a pretty awesome choice for a book! Here are some basic Q&As about the book.

The Book:

1. Who is the main character and what is that character’s personality like? Type a complete sentence or two that include three different adjectives that describe your character.

The main character is a girl named Sarah, who is now called Sadye, and who has a “lurking bigness.” She is dramatic, ambitious, and not satisfied with her “razzle-dazzled deprived” life in Ohio.

2. Most good stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Type a complete sentence for each of these three parts that summarizes what happens.

In the beginning of this book, Sadye is trapped in her plain and boring home-town and feels like she can’t show her true personality, but everything changes when she meets Demi at auditions for the Wildwood Summer Institute, and the two immediately become friends. When they both find out that they will be attending Wildwood, they are ecstatic, but things begin to fall apart when they are separated first by dorms, and then Demi becomes the popular star of one of the musicals, while Sadye is stuck in the annual production of a Shakespeare play. In the end, Demi’s plans to stay at Wildwood for the school year are jeopardized when they are caught on a roof with alcohol in hand, but Sadye makes a last sacrifice for her friend by claiming responsibility, and is kicked out of Wildwood, where Demi then finds new life while the two friends drift apart.

3. Think about the experiences that the main character has and the changes that she or he experiences by the end of the story. In a complete sentence or two, describe what you think the author is trying to say about life.

I think that the author is trying to remind us that even seemingly perfect situations can change in an instant. She also portrays very realistically the rise and fall of friendships and how the closest of friends can simply drift apart.

The Issues:

1. Explain how one of these issues affects the character(s) in the story. Write three complete sentences – either three different ways that one character is affected, or one way each that three different characters are affected.

In this book, the main character is affected by many issues. The first perhaps does not affect her as much as Demi, but Sadye is still affected when she finally can see past Demi’s “straight boy act” and into his real personality, as well as the fact that he is gay, and in the process gains a fabulous new friend. She is also affected by the question of identity, since a large part of the plot is how she is finding out who she really is. Her friendships are also affected quite a bit in this book, as she first gained many friends, and then lost some of her most important ones.

2. In complete sentences, describe two specific events that make the book’s social issue(s) seem real and important. How does the author make a big issue immediate and personal?

The author made these issues important and real by making them very believable. In this book, not everything had a happy ending, because in life, not everything has a happy ending. She connected the issues very well to a believable character and realistic situations.

Website Credits for Picture: theboyfriendlist.com

About Me!

My name is Margaret, but who am I?

I live in Bel Air in a small house that is surrounded by farmland. I attended Harford Day School for nine years before coming to John Carroll. In way of pets, I have a Yellow Labrador Retriever named Jib and a barn-cat-cross named Charlie. Very, very sadly, my amazing pony Mickey had to be put down at the beginning of the summer after he shattered his leg in a freak accident. I have participated in lots of sports, including basketball, lacrosse, field hockey, and equestrian, and I am on the JV Field Hockey team at school. I also spend much of my time volunteering. The past spring and winter, I helped out at a Therapuetic Riding barn and I also volunteer through my 4-H club, the Churchville Champions. I am part of many projects in 4-H, and my main two are Baking and Photography. In my free time, I love to read and draw. I also love performing on stage! Both sides of my family come from Harford County and own working farms. My Dad is the oldest of 15 children, and I have about 60 first cousins. In three words, I would say that I am loyal, friendly, and a perfectionist. I strive, a little too hard sometimes, to make everything exactly right and I love to make new friends, while sticking by all of my old friends. I rely on my friends and family for support and help, and they haven’t failed me yet!