At 18 years old, you can vote, enlist in the military, run for public office, and buy a pack of cigs. The rights that extend from entering adulthood are ready to tap, but don’t think for a second that the kegs of beer will be anytime soon.

Yes, underage binge drinking is a problem within the U.S. college scene. No, lowering the drinking age as an incentive to promote responsible drinking is not the answer.

The classic scapegoat “but other countries have lower drinking ages” is a poor argument. Ask any European exchange student who has had alcohol available to them since the age of 14 and she’ll tell you that by the time she’s reached adulthood, the thrill of drinking to get drunk is not nearly as prevalent as it is among 18+ Americans.

The problem stems from our inability as a country to introduce alcohol to youth inside the home. Rather than having our first glass of beer at a family gathering, many of us are exposed to alcohol at underage parties with our peers.

Youth are perceived to be too immature to handle alcohol because adult society makes little attempt to introduce responsible drinking habits instead of abstinence-only policies. The time is not ripe to lower the drinking age, but we as a society are long overdue to foster healthier behaviors around alcohol.