In an auditorium built to hold at least 500, about 40 Lubbock residents met for a town hall meeting Monday at Cavazos Middle School to discuss preventing and reducing underage drinking.
George Comiskey, associate director of the Center for Prevention and Resiliency at Texas Tech, led the discussion panel, which included members of the community from different alcohol-dependent resource organizations.
"This is going to have to be a grassroots effort," Comiskey said. "If anything is going to happen with underage drinking, we're going to have to do something about it."
According to the Students Against Destructive Decisions Web site, www.sadd.org, "about two-fifths of students have consumed alcohol by eighth grade," about one-fifth of which reported getting drunk.
Bobbi Britton-Stroud, the Raider Assistance Program manager, said many people overlook the problem of underage drinking once students enter college.
"Most people think that when a student goes to college, it is kind of their right of passage to participate in alcohol use," Britton-Stroud said.
That being the case, she said students are well-informed when it comes to the dangers of alcohol, but many do not know where to turn when they have a problem.
"Most students who come to see me are not alcohol dependent, so I ask them, 'if you did have a problem with drinking, what would you do?'" she said. "Surprisingly, a lot of these intelligent students don't have an answer for that, they've never thought about it."
On the Tech campus, one major resource students have access to is the Raider Assistance Program.
According to the program's Web site, www.depts.ttu.edu/studentjudicialprograms, "The Raider Assistance Program is a safe and confidential place for students to go and ask for help with self-destructing and self-defeating behaviors relating to alcohol and other drugs," which "offers educational information, intervention strategies, prevention strategies, confidential screening for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, and treatment for abusive habits."
Kyle L. Martin, a sophomore cell and molecular biology major from Arlington, said he is a member of Impact Tech, an organization that gives presentations to Tech students regarding heath and wellness.
"Our goal is not to say don't drink," Martin said. "We're giving them the tools and education on how to drink responsibility."
As a freshman at Frenship High School, 15 year-old Gilbert Sanchez sat on the panel to discuss his decision to choose not to drink alcohol or do drugs.
"People like to drink to fit into the crew and be cool, but there is a part in life when you have to choose if you want to be cool or if you want to get an education," Sanchez said. "I guess we're here to ask everyone here to help teenagers to make good choices. Just help us; just help us survive."
Gilbert said after witnessing his mother struggle with his father's alcohol addiction, the choice he would make was clear to him. He said when it comes to peer pressure, each man stands on his own.
"I can control myself; it's choices, you've got to make your own choice," he said. "I'm making different choices than my dad."
Though the turn out was low, panel members said they were not discouraged and would continue to bring awareness to the community about underage drinking.
Floyd Price, councilman for District 1, was one of three city officials who attended the meeting.
"We glororize alcohol so much - the thing that we are competing with is apathy, when it comes to alcohol - people truly believe that it's no big deal," he said.
Be the first to comment on this article!