By JOSEPH KELLARD
Everyone from police to school officials to parents, it seems, is involved in efforts to deter students from drinking — or to punish transgressors at school-related events. “The whole thing about prom and graduation season in Long Beach is that it’s a pretty multifaceted approach,” said Judi Vining, coordinator of the Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking at Long Beach Medical Center.
Students must attend a mandatory pre-prom meeting with a parent or guardian, or else prom tickets are withheld. At the meeting, high school Principal Nick Restivo discusses prom policies, and students must sign a pledge to accept them. Vining and Lt. John Radin of the Long Beach Police Department give a PowerPoint presentation about what parents can do on prom night, whether it’s going through their children’s backpacks or opening water bottles to make sure the water hasn’t been replaced with vodka.
“One of the things we hear nationwide is that the hardest thing is to get the parents involved,” Vining said.
Radin describes the meeting as an opportunity to remind parents that drinking has changed since they were kids. “When I was younger, there was always that exceptional guy who could polish off a few six-packs or a half bottle of liquor,” Radin explained. “The scary thing is that what used to be the exception has now become the norm.”
At this year’s meetings — there were five in all — Radin and Vining showed video of a trauma center in Maryland that spotlights a half-dozen teens severely injured in DWI-related incidents. “It showed kids in very serious accidents, with body parts, blood and gore,” said parent Bonnie Goetz, who son, Joseph, is a senior. “It was very explicit, but I think it really hit home.”
Goetz said she hoped the presentation affected students as deeply as it did parents, adding that at the meeting she attended, one female students fainted — “I guess because of how gruesome it was,” Goetz said.
Pam Garfinkle, a building aide at the high school whose triplets will graduate next week, called the DVD “gory” and “disgusting,” but objected only because it was shown at a pre-prom event. “I understand why they’re doing it, but I think it should be shown in a health class, where it would affect every kid, not just the kids going to the prom,” Garfinkle said. “The movie itself did not relate to prom safety.”
Radin and Vining also talked to parents about the social host law, which is aimed at parents who knowingly host parties at which minors use alcohol or drugs. And Restivo joined in on their talk to students about other, lasting dangers of alcohol. “What we try to push home ... is the long-term physical problems caused by alcoholism, not just the impairment for that night,” the principal said.
On prom night, school officials and security personnel check limos for alcohol bottles and are ready to administer breathalyzer tests to students who they suspect have been drinking. If a student is found to be intoxicated, he or she faces immediate suspension, including from the graduation ceremony.
Some parents and teens have criticized the policy on the grounds that it violates privacy rights. “We would administer it if someone fell out of a limo looking like they had done too much,” Restivo said. “We don’t do it routinely.” He said he has had few problems with students drinking in the seven years he has overseen the prom.
After the prom, which this year will be held at the Château Briand in Westbury, the high school PTA will host the 18th annual Morning Madness party at nearby Dave & Buster’s, where, from midnight to 5 a.m., students can bowl, play pool, table hockey and video games, and take part in other activities. The alcohol- and drug-free party aims to provide seniors with a safe post-prom haven.
Seniors who only plan to go to the party must still attend the mandatory pre-prom meeting.
Parent Kathleen Polchynsky said her son, Michael, will skip the prom but will attend Morning Madness. “I think it’s great because they’re more encouraged to go there than to the city and bars,” she said. “This way they have a chance of winning a car or a laptop, which is motivation to keep them from drinking or getting in trouble.”
Morning Madness is sponsored in part by the Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking. A mix of law enforcement officials, religious institutions and local media, the coalition is eight years into a 20-year mission to “impact and change the community norms and culture surrounding underage drinking.” Its mantra is that underage drinking is an adult problem, since adults must somehow be involved when drinks get into the hands of teens.
Along with the Interfaith Clergy Association, the coalition conducts a Lock Up Your Liquor campaign, which kicked off last Sunday at a Kiwanis Club-Interfaith service at the Christian Light Baptist Church. Vining was among the guest speakers. “I said that it’s prom and graduation season, and it’s time to be vigilant as parents and as a community to say this isn’t OK, we want our community safe,” she said.
Goetz is among the parents who say they take the zero-tolerance policy seriously. “It’s hard to know if they have more of a problem in other communities,” she said, “or if they’re just more vigilant here in what they try to do to prevent things from happening.”
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
