In 2008, there was over 190,000 alcohol-related emergency room visits for people under the age of 21. That's hard to imagine. Not to mention the fact that underage drinking is the number-one cause of deaths for people under the age of 21. So it is not hard to tell exactly why underage drinking is such a bad thing. It kills people, plain and simple. Not only can it kill the drinker, but in the case of driving, it can put other's people's lives in danger as well. It is pretty obvious to me that people under the age of 21 are not responsible enough to drink. Some adults aren't even mature enough to handle the situations they can be faced with. I feel as if though there should be a severe sentence on people who are caught underage drinking. I believe they should be thrown in jail for at least a year, if not, longer. And the punishment should be much worse if they are not only caught underage drinking, but driving under the influence as well (Psychological). Sure, people do have reasons to drink. Take for example, a freshman in college. A typical first year student has tons of things to worry about. He or she is concerned about their grades, whether or not they will fit in with everybody at school, moving away from their parents, and just changing their environment entirely. Some students might want to alleviate this stress by having a drink or two. Another reason that would cause a person to underage drink is due to the lack of proper parenting. Growing up, if a child see's his or her parents drinking all the time, it may certainly influence the child's view on how alcohol should be handled. Or maybe a child witnesses his or her parents fighting all the time, and it stays with them until their middle to late-teen years. As the child gets older, they may feel that their only way out of this kind of stress is to drink the pain away (Masten). However, I do not think the above reasons give somebody a legitimate excuse to drink while still under age. We hear it all the time, and it couldn't be truer: It's all about living a