Underage drinking forum draws attention to mixed messages for Ann Arbor teens
In a college town like Ann Arbor, where high schoolers can easily join off-campus parties, alcohol is easily accessible - making extra parental vigilance necessary.
That was one message delivered to an audience of about 40 people at Monday night’s town hall meeting in Pioneer High School’s Shreiber Auditorium.
Janet Gribbons explains why she chose not to drink during her high school years. Ronald Ahrens | For AnnArbor.com
A panel made up of students, educators, health and public safety professionals—and even a retailer—spoke of challenges they have faced, as well as those that must be addressed by parents and students.
“It’s been tough over the years to see what I’ve seen, to know what I know,” said Erik Epskamp, an emergency medical technician for Huron Valley Ambulance. “I’ve seen a lot of nasty stuff.”
Epskamp said he has spoken to his daughter about drinking and the shattered lives he has witnessed as the result.
Everyone agreed it's not easy to get the message across to prevent such tragedies. One solution, presented by Pioneer counselor Evelyn Tolson, is that kids should be prepared to answer the question of how to give a party that’s safe.
“The difficulty is taking the party out of the kid,” Tolson said. But an important thing to remember, she added, is that when talking to a youngster, “silence means approval.”
Early communication with children—starting by the third grade—is a key, according to Marie Hanson, a Lansing social worker and alcohol policy activist. In middle school, peer pressure can take over.
“You can have the best kid in the world, but it’s hard not to follow along when somebody has a great idea,” Hanson said. Early communication will “let them know it isn’t an inevitable thing that kids are going to drink.”
Tommy York explains how his Morgan & York shop is 'bombarded' with offers to sell high-margin, low-quality 'kid drinks.'
An added imperative for tackling the problem comes from the imminence of spring break, prom and graduation.
“This is the high school high-drinking time,” said Elizabeth Patten, an Ann Arbor Police Department school relations officer.
A special effort is being made to alert everyone - from hotel proprietors to limo drivers - about the signs of excessive drinking.
Marlena Studer attended out of concern for her two daughters in Ann Arbor high schools.
“Underage drinking is a very serious problem,” said Studer, president of Star Works Cellars, the specialty wine producer that markets the Bo Collector’s Series wines.
As the meeting emphasized, the influx of so-called “alcohol energy drinks” and “alcopops” is especially insidious in Ann Arbor, where the youth already receive mixed messages.
“I’m very much unhappy with companies that produce and market for kids,” Studer said.
Ronald Ahrens is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.
Comments
Andrew MacKie-Mason
Wed, Mar 24, 2010 : 3:58 p.m.
Debling: "Drinking age should be aligned with the age of adulthood (18). Move on." Why, exactly? Why do you think the age should be 18, other than it being an easy choice because we already use it for some indicia of adulthood?
debling
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 11:12 p.m.
Drinking age should be aligned with the age of adulthood (18). Move on.
Andrew MacKie-Mason
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 8:55 p.m.
" But you see, Andrew -- you are exactly the type of parent that I am speaking of -- making excuses that it is "okay" to drink if you are under age as long as you are supervised by a responsible adult. There is NO safe underage drinking." Why? What specific dangers are you so afraid of that it justifies giving youth no exposure to alcohol before they're off on their own?
jns131
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 8:29 p.m.
My father was an alcoholic and yes, as one person put it plainly here. My brother became one during his teen years. Should have seen the parties that got out of control. Parents no where to be found and I was locked in my room with the television on hi. Growing up was fun. Especially living not more then 8 blocks from the football stadium and half the time they didn't card like they do now. If a teen is going to drink? Let them do it at home. Controlled. If you fear it? They will want to know why. No brainer here. We talk about it all the time. Good luck parents. If you are involved in your childrens lives they won't have time to drink and find trouble. Mine won't. Period.
interested
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 8:18 p.m.
One can give their life to fight in the military at age 18, yet cannot legally drink a beer until he/she is 21. This law is completely ridiculous. I agree with those who discuss having teenagers "practice" drinking at home with their parents. They can feel the effects of being drunk and learn their limits. More often than not, most people get drunk for the first time without parent guidance and find themselves in compromising situations. I was lucky - we drank at home with my parents. This included having a glass of champagne for special occasions, a glass of Bailey's on ice, etc. I realized that one drink made me feel fuzzy, and that allowed me to learn my limits with my peers. The first time I was sideways was at a family event - probably the safest place to be. We need to be more accepting of drinking in our culture. Just like responsible driving is taught by parents, so should responsible drinking. In terms of the law, we can save a lot of adults of the ages 18 - 21 a lot of grief by changing the law to 18 (or at least 19).
Lokalisierung
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 5:25 p.m.
"There is NO safe underage drinking." But this is obviously a false, or at the very least unprovable point. The drinking laws used to be 18 years of age. So the day the law was passed to 21, it made somone that had been drinking legaly for 2 years underage, and thus "unsafe?" I can't buy that logic.
Andrew MacKie-Mason
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 5 p.m.
Also, a factual correction: the forum took place in Pioneer's Little Theater, not Schreiber Auditorium.
Andrew MacKie-Mason
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 4:59 p.m.
RonAnnArbor: "There are two ways to play that game. But when you have "adults" who don't think this is a problem, how do you think our youth are going to get the message that it is not permissible." Why was the drinking at the party a problem? Were kids being unsafe? Were they getting hammered and passing out? Were they driving drunk? It sounds like the only thing you had a problem with was the mere fact that people under 21 were drinking. It sounds to me, at least from your story, that that was a good and safe environment. Youth were learning how to drink in a social environment with adults around to prevent anything dangerous from happening. If you try to deny youth that opportunity, they'll never be exposed to situations where they can learn how to drink safely. http://www.annarbor.com/community/news/opinion/prohibition_on_underage_drinking_causes_dangers/
Lokalisierung
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 3:45 p.m.
Oh I remember a freinds Mom buying us a keg for graduation. Of course at that time we all knew places to buy or could have had any number of people buy it for us.
Lokalisierung
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 3:25 p.m.
"Since then, the problem has only gotten worse." How so?
Machine
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 3:05 p.m.
When I was in college in the 1980's, people were concerned about underage drinkers and binge drinking. Since then, the problem has only gotten worse. Perhaps it's time for policymakers to realize that their "solutions" to the problem have failed and a new approach is called for.
Lokalisierung
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 12:58 p.m.
Kids drink. Always have, always will. They do it for many reasons, but without looking too deeply into it, they do it casue it's fun. I mean, that's why I do it.
Andrew MacKie-Mason
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 11:17 a.m.
Trying to treat "underage" drinking as a problem in and of itself is not the solution, it is the root cause of many issues. The prohibition on alcohol consumption by those under 21 has led to alcohol being mystified by youth in American culture to a much greater degree than anywhere else in the world. In the best case scenario, youth find themselves in college, completely free at the age of 21, with no experience of the effects of alcohol. If we let alcohol education be done on a personal level, with each family setting their own rules, youth would be able to start drinking in a secure environment and gain an appreciation for the power and effects of alcohol. http://www.annarbor.com/community/news/opinion/prohibition_on_underage_drinking_causes_dangers/
AMOC
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 10:32 a.m.
We should return the drinking age to 18, while enforcing the laws about drunk / impaired driving even more strenuously. In the effort to prevent inexperienced (ie. young) drinkers from injuring themselves or others, we have created TWO problems where there was one. It is ridiculous that legal adults can't buy or consume alcohol in their own homes or in restaurants. Also, for families that ever drink, their teens should be included in such customs as toasting happy events, wine with holiday meals, etc. so that they are familiar with resposible consumption. Zero experience with alcohol in a controlled and supervised setting means kids may not recognize alcohol served to them secretly at a party. It also encourages binge drinking, which is the problematic part of underage drinking, no matter the technicalities of the law.
swcornell
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 10:19 a.m.
The local High School was actually allowing the kids after football game video party to take place at a local bar/restaurant. There were coaches present but very very few parents. I went to the school board but nothing changed. This party used to take place at the local Methodist church. What message are we sending to the kids here!
a2karen
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 10:18 a.m.
I wish I had more notice of this event and also want to thank those people who put this together and presented. This is an important message for our community and the "kids" drinks are very concerning.
Mumbambu, Esq.
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 9:30 a.m.
I think one of the big problems is that when kids start drinking it is unsupervised and they don't know what to expect and how their body will react. I know it sounds silly to many but I feel drinking is something that needs to be learned with family (if one chooses to do so) instead of picked up "on the streets".
Barb
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 8:04 a.m.
XMO is dead on. I wonder what it would take to lower the drinking age. Quit making it forbidden fruit.
jcj
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 7:59 a.m.
I don't believe there are any "Magic Bullets" on this subject. My father was an Alcoholic and maybe seeing him come home and beat my mother has something to do with me not drinking. My wife and I never touch any kind of alcohol but our children drink. And while my kids are long past graduation I have grand kids coming up not that far from making these decisions. It would be great to get through this graduation year without any headline about an accident that takes the life of any teenagers. I applaud all those addressing this issue. Especially the students that attended this meeting. I do believe there is some merit to not being a "do as I say not as I do" parent. If your parents are slobs there is a good chance you will be a slob when you reach adulthood. If your parents don't know don't know how to manage their finances chances are you won't know how when you reach adulthood. If your parents are smokers you are more likely to be a smoker. I don't buy the statement that "young people are suffering from very low expectations" On the contrary expectations are so high that kids feel pressure at a much younger age. We were allowed to be kids. Kids now have as much homework in the 7th grade as we did in the 12th grade. Kids are expected to be on track for a career by the 9th grade. Kids are involved in 2-3 different activities that have them running from one side of town to the other. Expectations are low when it comes to manners. We except foul language in public and at home.
xmo
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 7:34 a.m.
If the drinking age was 18 again, there would not be as much under age drinking.
bob
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 7:23 a.m.
@somewhat concerned....If the police stop and check ID's then they are hassling the people...they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Kids have been drinking since the beginning of time. I think the bigger problem is parents that don't discipline their kids when they get catch drinking (or for many other issues) When I was in high school I got caught drinking...and proceeded to be grounded for 2 months of summer vacation. That was definitely a deterrent. Nowadays parents let their kids get away with too much.
JackieL
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 7:20 a.m.
Only 40 people attended? Might be because we received the notice yesterday from Pioneer.
Davidian
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 7:13 a.m.
Reality check: the vast majority of kids who experiment with and/or abuse alcohol in high school turn out just fine. This undoubtedly includes most of the adults on this panel. I'll argue that getting it out of your system when you are young may be preferable to going to college, losing control, and flunking out under the total lack of parental supervision. Then you're really in trouble--debt up to your ears, no job, etc. High school hardly prepares you for the real world. It's more about socialization and fundamentals. Learning your limits, in all facets, is part of this. I wish people would think about this topic a little bit more critically--accept that it's probably going to happen, and educate your kids about reality, not pipe dreams (i.e. abstinence). Kids are not stupid; they will see right through hypocrisy, and your best efforts will backfire if this happens. One has to be completely realistic when broaching this topic with teenagers.
Somewhat Concerned
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 6:35 a.m.
Any kid can walk past a dozen houses on Hill Street (or nearly any street within walking distance of the U), and, in good weather, find a gang of students with a keg tapped, possibly a game of beer pong, and hang out drinking with them. Police cars drive by and ignore it - have you ever seen police stop and check i.d.s for ages - so the message to young people is that there is nothing wrong with drinking (in the middle of the day on a lawn). If you support a culture of young drinking, don't wring your hands over young people who drink.
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Tue, Mar 23, 2010 : 6:26 a.m.
A bigger problem is that young people are suffering from very low expectations. It used to be that people were expected to act like adults at a much younger age.