Caryn Brooks' (article) in Monday's Collegian about the joys of turning 21 in State College included an illustration of a toilet. How appropriate; that's exactly where the article belongs. The (article) demonstrates just how big a farce the 21-year-old drinking age really is. What purpose does it serve to restrict someone from drinking until his 21st birthday, even going so far as to arrest him and suspend his driver's license, only to encourage him to go out and get drunk when the day arrives?

It didn't take me 21 years to learn how to act like a drunken fool. I was already quite good at that by the time I was 17.

Like most college-age men in this town, I consume alcohol. And yes, there are times when I overdo it -- and pay the price. But those aren't the rights I'm proud of. I never felt any more like a man the next morning, only hungover.

I find it difficult to believe, Caryn, that you can't find anything more worthwhile to write about. Reading macho trash like that makes me want to bow to the porcelain god.