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SPRING BREAK 101, FOR PARENTS
By Tony Wittke, School Liaison Officer
If history is our guide, spring break next month will mark an unfortunate milestone for some high school students in greater Orono: their first exposure to alcohol consumption.
Partying. Binge drinking. Keggers. Call it what you want, but most anything connecting minors and alcohol is illegal. It’s that simple.
Practically an entire chapter is devoted to it in the Minnesota statutes, with ominous headers: Persons under 21; illegal acts. Possession. Misrepresentation.
Educators and law enforcement share a common duty not to condone illicit alcohol use among minors. Parents responsible for the safety, well being and upbringing of their children bear an even larger burden.
Disregarding the criminal violation for a moment, consider only a few of the imminent risks to youth resulting from alcohol consumption:
Physical injury and death. In each of the past two years, a Minnesota high school senior has fallen to his death from a hotel balcony in Mexico, where the legal drinking age is 18 and online travel companies lure students with free liquor and “all-you-can-drink wristbands.” A State Department alert at www.travel.state.gov/spring_break all but says it, diplomatically--no more parents should have to face recovering a child from a Mexican jail, hospital or morgue.
Driving while impaired or intoxicated. If the cost of college seems daunting, just tally the impact of an alcohol related traffic conviction by a dependent child. Auto insurance surcharges alone can easily exceed the cost of a year of in-State tuition at a public college or university in Minnesota. Add fines and court costs and you can match a year of tuition at a private institution.
Sexual predation. One out of 4 females will suffer a sexual assault before reaching adulthood. Many are victimized while under the voluntary influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Avoiding intoxicants and illegal substances is a more than a good rule to instill in girls—it’s a matter of basic personal safety.
Long term health. It’s an axiom in the medical community: the seeds
of alcoholism are sown early in life. It’s not enough to lead by example
as adults. We must also instill in our children that moderation is a personal
choice only for grownups.
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