With poll: Underage drinking forum draws attention to mixed messages for Ann Arbor teens

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.”

Every attendee received a certificate signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who proclaimed the period from March 14 to April 4 as Underage Drinking Town Hall Meeting Awareness Weeks, and all of April as Alcohol Awareness Month.

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.