JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, August 2, 2006 7:00 pm
Nebraska ranks among the top 20 percent of states in underage drinking and binge drinking —a dubious honor that state, local and federal officials want to see end.
BY JoANNE YOUNG | Lincoln Journal Star
It can taste like lemonade and fruit drinks.
It’s easily accessible in many homes, convenience stories, family events and parking lots where tailgate parties abound.
Add to that a biological tendency that enables teens to drink more alcohol than adults before they experience the negative effects of drowsiness, loss of coordination and hangover and their sensitivity to the positive effects: loss of inhibitions and feeling more at ease with their peers.
The result: Alcohol and kids mix it up pretty good.
Nebraska may score high in academic achievement, but it also ranks among the top 20 percent of states in underage drinking and binge drinking, said Steve Wing, associate administrator for alcohol policy at the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
State, local and federal officials want to decrease that interaction, so they took advantage of a gathering of more than 600 state educators Wednesday to put out a call to action to lead the way in keeping kids and their activities alcohol-free.
A joint resolution passed in May by the state Board of Education, the Nebraska School Activities Association and the Nebraska Partners in Prevention, and endorsed by many organizations and individuals since then, calls for alcohol-free student activities and events in facilities and areas where alcohol is not sold or consumed during the activities.
At the state Administrators’ Days conference, a panel of eight speakers asked the educators to join the legion of adults sending the alcohol-free message to kids.
Not one community in Nebraska is not affected by the problems of underage drinking, said Fred Meyer, state Board of Education president.
“The societal cost is intolerable, and it’s huge,” he said.
Wing, who said that for a long time it has been difficult to get people to pay attention to underage drinking, was buoyed by Nebraska’s efforts.
One thing that spurred the action was last year’s state wrestling tournament at the Qwest Center in Omaha.
The Nebraska State Activities Association had continuously asked that alcohol not be served at the center during the tournament, said Jim Tenopir, NSAA executive director. At the 11th hour, he said, the association had to work quickly to ensure alcohol would not be served in hospitality suites there.
The same potential exists at bowling alleys, golf courses and hotels where student activities and sports take place, although many golf courses have made an effort to not serve alcohol during those events, he said.
Maris Bentley, Buffalo County Prevention Advisory Council, told the group the resolution has made a difference.
At a recent family fitness contest celebration at the Kearney Holiday Inn, she said, sponsors were asked to forego the cash bar and they complied. That was significant, she said.
Katie Bauer, a member of the Buffalo County Youth Advisory Board, said adult support of alcohol-free events helps youth groups who are trying to prevent their peers from drinking.
Christensen said student vocational groups are set to hold three-day conferences at such places as The Cornhusker in Lincoln and will ask that during those times, the bar is the only place alcohol will be served.
“If they don’t want to do that, we’ll go someplace else,” he said. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask.“
Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.
Nebraska underage drinking
* 73 percent of high school students have taken at least one drink of alcohol in their life
* 43 percent have consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days
* 30 percent have had five or more drinks in a row within a couple of hours in the previous 30 days
— 2005 Nebraska Youth Behavior Risk Survey