Prom Season: Educators Say "No" to Drinking, Drugs

Prom season is a time for flowing dresses and spiffy tuxedoes, for dancing and laughter.

But it’s also deadly.

According to statistics, teen drinking and driving leads to a spike in alcohol-related crashes and death during prom and graduation season.

To that end, Riverhead educators and others are teaming up to warn teens of the dangers of alcohol and drugs.

On June 1, the Riverhead Community Awareness Program Inc, (CAP) will host is 27th annual “Say NO to Drugs  March,” with Curtis Highsmith, Jr., a deacon, businessman and Riverhead High School graduate, addressing students.

Additionally, High School Principal David Wicks said the Students Against Drunk Driving Club normally does a presentation before junior prom, which was held last Friday, as well as a “Grim Reaper” day, although that event was not held this year. Every other year, the school district stages the mock car crash.

Each student that attends the Riverhead High School prom must sign a contract, promising to follow the district's code of conduct and not to drink or smoke on prom night.

Looking ahead, next year, the district will require that those attending senior prom must take a bus from the high school to the prom venue.

“All students will meet at the high school where we will have the area decorated and student and parents can take pictures before the buses leave,” Wicks said.

Outreach efforts are necessary, Wicks said. “It is important to keep making smart decisions on the forefront of the students’ minds. While we cannot be with them through every decision that they make, we can continually stress the importance of being safe and making choices that will benefit them and others in the long run.”

CAP, a not for profit organization, has worked since 1983 to provide drug and alchohol prevention, education and counseling for the Riverhead school district.

A two-year prevention program taught by volunteers and student peer leaders for Pulaski Street fifth and sixth graders concludes with the “Say No to Drugs March” during which students march through Riverhead in "Drug Free Body" T-shirts.

But despite a plethora of outreach efforts, Felicia Scocozza, executive director of CAP, said prevention should begin at home, with parents talking to their kids about alcohol and drugs.

“The dangers exist all the time, but especially around prom time,” Scocozza said.

While some parents may feel uncomfortable discussing the issue with their kids, Scocozza said such conversations are critical.

"Alcohol is responsible for more teen deaths than all other drugs combined,” she said. “I would remind parents that their children’s safety is the first priority. It might be uncomfortable to talk about but ultimately, it’s going to be a more painful conversation when a police officer shows up at your door and tells you that your child has been injured or killed in an accident.”

The Riverhead Central School District, Scocozza said, conducts a Teen Assessment Project survey; the TAP survey results are consistent -- alcohol is the most abused drug by teens.

On the positive side, however, survey results indicate that 74 percent of respondents say that the single biggest factor in their decision not to drink is their parents, Scocozza said.

"Part of the disconnect lies in the fact that the majority of parents assume that their children automtically know how they feel about underage drinking and drug use, but often times kids don't remember having those conversations, especially if it was a single conversation," she said.

For example, Scocozza said, research has shown that 30 percent of 8 to 11 year-olds said that they did not remember having talked about that conversation with their parents, even though the parents specifically said they discussed it with their children.

In 2008, half of Riverhead students reported that their parents did not talk to them about drugs and 42 percent reported that their parents did not talk to them about DWI. “Ideally, these conversations need to take place early and often,” she said.

CAP also offers a program, Guiding Good Choices, aimed at parents of students in grades 4 though 8, teaching “protective factors,” and increasing children’s involvement with their families -- making them less likely to drink, smoke or use drugs.