In a little over two weeks, Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) grads will be embarking on a new chapter of their lives. They will celebrate that momentous achievement with a party — and, in all likelihood, consume copious amounts of alcohol.
And as we all know, youth and alcohol can be a dangerous mix.
No one knows that better than the people at BCHS. A number of years ago, BCHS lost a number of its youth in impaired driving accidents during the ‘graduation celebration’ period from the May long weekend to the end of June, which I suppose is why the organizers have instituted a lockdown policy for the dinner and dance.
Basically, anyone going into the dinner and dance undergoes a check to ensure they are not bringing in drugs or alcohol by security volunteers. Once inside, grads and guests can only buy alcoholic drinks from the Barrhead Agricultural Society bartender.
Organizers have taken that precaution to ensure no one who shouldn’t be driving leaves the premises and gets behind a wheel.
Kudos to them, because from all reports the system is working. That being said, I wonder why BCHS grads do not have the option of a dry grad.
Whenever I have bought it up as part of casual conversation, people look at me like I am suggesting something out of science fiction.
One reason someone gave me is that it would cut into the Ag society’s profits, as they use it as a fundraiser. I hope they were being facetious because money shouldn’t be a factor in presenting students with the option of a non-alcoholic grad event.
And I believe they should be offered that choice because far too often alcohol is consumed without thought of its consequences.
Three years ago a Mainstreet/Postmedia poll that asked nearly 2,500 people several questions about driving under the influence.
Basically, one in five Albertans said they would consider driving under the influence. When asked if the impaired driving incident happened in the past five years, 48 per cent said yes, 36 per cent said no, and 16 per cent said they weren’t sure.
The older the respondent, the more likely they were to say they had driven under the influence of alcohol.
These stats are alarming, but what’s even more shocking is another stat from a recent Barrhead Cares report.
That report stated that a sizeable number of BCHS high school students (Grades 9 to 12) identify a large portion of the area’s drug problems to adults’ cavalier attitudes on alcohol.
As responsible adults, it is our duty to make sure we let youth know that while alcohol is legal, improper use has serious consequences. One of the best ways we can do that is by offering grads a dry celebratory alternative.
