By Jaclyn Davis / Special to the Delta

Underage drinking is part of a culture on college campuses across the United States. However, not as many students participate or admit to underage drinking as thirty years ago.

Research completed by national organization, Monitoring the Future shows the decline of alcohol consumption by minors. However, many students at Missouri Valley College admit to drinking underage.

Missouri Valley College has an alcohol policy in considered a dry campus However, students still manage to consume alcohol. Of the 150 students sampled, 21 percent said they had never consumed alcohol while underage.
One of these students, Alyxus Parrish, a sophomore member of the MVC Cheer Team has no interest in drinking alcohol while underage.

“I just don’t like the taste of alcohol,” she said. “And I’m underage.”
Parrish still enjoys the college lifestyle of going out with her friends, but does not feel the need to drink alcohol to have fun. However, she does take on being the designated driver. She feels that alcohol is an expensive hobby, and is glad she can save money, but expects to drink occasionally when it is legal.

Missouri Valley College has a large population of students from foreign countries, where the legal drinking age is 18. This is a big adjustment for students such as Darleen Zwanbun, a freshman from Germany.

“In Germany we are allowed to drink beer and wine by age 16,” she said. “I think age 18 as a legal age would be better here. People are going to drink regardless and I feel like if it were legal people wouldn’t over do it as much, and it would be less risky.”

According to the Center for Disease Control, persons under the age of 21 is illegal, people aged 12 to 20 years drink 11 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States. More than 90 percent of this alcohol is consumed in the form of binge drinks.

For more information regarding Missouri Valley College policy on alcohol consumption see the student handbook.