“I’m under 21, yeah, but that’s never stopped the [New Year’s Eve] family tradition; we still tap glasses and drink wine out of a cup. Illegal? I think not. Celebration? Well, of course,” said a Clark junior who did not wish to be named.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, three-fourths of seniors and more than two-thirds of sophomores have consumed alcohol. Each year, roughly 5,000 young people under the legal drinking age die as a result of underage drinking.

Some students find that drinking alcohol is a way to brighten up situations. “Alcohol just makes everything seem so chill…things just transition nicely,” a senior said.

Others believe that advertisements choose teenagers as targets. “Commercials show us these awesome situations, like a hot guy opens up a bottle of beer and hands it to a hot girl and they just click and dance at a party. I’d want that to happen,” one junior said.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, alcohol advertisements connect the consumption of alcohol with attributes particularly vital to youth, such as friendship, reputation, sex appeal and fun.

But not all students find commercials convincing. “Commercials are just a bunch of…well, you know…like that one commercial where all these attractive people get on these little boats, travel to the middle of the ocean and empty sand bags to create an island because they want to dance, drink and party,” said one senior.

“That’s all really awesome, but it’s not going to happen. You’d need more sand than the size of Glendale to make an island that size. As for dancing and partying while drinking beer, I’ve been there and I’ve done that.”

Of course, there are students who steer clear of alcohol. Senior Beatrice Regner said, “Underage drinkers do not have the right mindset. They consider immense alcohol consumption cool because most of their friends drink. The problem really is that some people drive under the influence causing car accidents, and that’s just not right.”