Besides the legal taboo, there is also a social prohibition on drinking. Consider the young man who goes out to get drunk on his 21st birthday, a very common experience in America. One must really wonder if the true problem is not the objective newspaper account of this behavior, but rather the people who, in spite of probably indulging in some heavy drinking themselves at some time or another, sanctimoniously and publicly pretend their sins are better than his. These people keep encouraging social prohibition that leads to a greater desire to drink and go against taboos. They also ostracize people who do have drinking problems with their judgmental attitudes and narrow-mindedness instead of providing better avenues for help.
Students are, of course.
This country comes out looking like hypocrites who pretend to believe drinking is immoral but do it anyway in staggering proportions. Manhattan and the Midwest are no exception to the hypocrisy. They're not in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. They're in Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana, Texas and Florida. They're right where the Bible Belt fastens its buckle around its swollen waist.