As a close observer and sometime critic of local schools, I’d like to thank Gilroy High School’s administration for its requirement of its soon-to-be graduating seniors to attend binge drinking prevention and drunk driving prevention workshops during the time the younger students were taking their STAR tests. Such a move demonstrates that they want to take one last opportunity to arm the students with useful information as they go off and navigate the larger world on their own. It’s doubly commendable when other high schools across the county let their seniors have a beach day or other outing during STAR testing instead. I deeply appreciate the acknowledgement of the need for such information and their effort to stand up to the disappointment of those afflicted by or who are wont to give in to students with “senioritis” and still offer it.
The presenters from Rebekah Children’s Services asked, of the class levels in college, which group binge drinks the most: freshman, sophomores, juniors or seniors? Freshmen, for the first time free from parental control, trying to fit in, and a variety of other reasons, binge drink the most, often with great consequences to their health and well-being.
We know from youth surveys in Morgan Hill, youth focus groups in Gilroy and, it was clear, from the audience at the workshop that the students are quite familiar with the range of alcoholic beverages they have to choose. The workshop included a section that helped the students to think critically about alcohol industry ads. As we viewed slides that showed flavored martinis as lollipops, extraordinarily fit boxers portraying “low carb” alcoholic drinks as healthful beverages, I thought of the alcohol industry’s efforts to market to youth, despite their offended insistence that they do not.
Studies have shown that by the time young people graduate from high school, they have been exposed to more than 75,000 ads for alcoholic beverages. However, ads that distort reality are not enough. The packaging of the drinks themselves has changed to take advantage of trends for juices and other items that are typically consumed by youth well under the age of 21, and, as I expressed last April, what frustrates me as a parent who is trying to be vigilant is it’s making it harder for me to spot alcoholic beverages. It’s not just the color of the beverage anymore, but they are packaged like energy drinks. Soon there will be green tea with alcohol. And now, there are Jello shots the same size and color as regular Jello snack containers, Pocket Shots that look like Capri Suns, and now Spykes, 2oz. of alcohol flavored like chocolate, mango or raspberry packaged in – get this – nail polish bottles.
The alcohol industry insists they don’t market to youth. During recent state government hearings about the proper classification of flavored malt beverages – “alcopops” – industry reps confused the issue by arguing that properly regulating these drinks would have to lead to regulation of such pantry items as vanilla extract, because, after all, these contain alcohol, too. They then tout their support of underage drinking prevention by producing some ads that point the finger of underage use at parents.
Fortunately, young people have excellent crap detectors. Desirae Espinosa, a 15 year old from San Diego working on substance abuse prevention efforts like the youth in Morgan Hill, said in response, “What adult would purchase products that contain alcohol, but look like sodas, juices and even nail polish and shampoo? The marketing of these drinks makes me feel disappointed with the adults that make decisions about the world that we are living in.”
And that’s the sad thing. In every facet of the problem of underage drinking, there’s an adult involved in some way. It’s someone who’s selling or procuring alcohol for them, or setting up an environment where they can drink, or, in the public arena, making decisions or actions – or worse, as in the case of our Board of Equalization, not making decisions or actions – that leave them vulnerable to the industry’s ability to take advantage of loopholes and a market that doesn’t give a hoot about them as growing youth, but only as “entry-level drinkers.”
I hope the kids at GHS who “endured” these workshops recognize that the adults there cared about them enough to do the unpopular thing and make them sit through information that was relevant to their lives now, and next year and years to come.
And thanks to Rebekah’s for making it available. Good show!
Columnist Dina Campeau is a wife, mother of two teens and a resident of Morgan Hill. Her work for the last seven years has focused on affordable housing and homeless issues in Santa Clara County. Her column will be published each Friday. Reach her at dc******@*****er.net.
