by Karen Shaw Suriner

Created on: February 15, 2009

Sending young people away from home with no comprehension of how alcohol affects them is like sending a soldier into war who has never fired a gun! Many many rapes could be prevented if young people were encouraged to experience the effects of alcohol first under the supervision of a caring parent or guardian. Our current laws not only prevent parents from giving their children this practical knowledge, but actually demonizes those who try. Moderation can and should be taught.

Alcohol affects everyone differently, and can even affect the same individual differently at different times and in different situations. For example, one gets drunk much faster when drinking on an empty stomach, or when drinking high-proof spirits. College campuses are full of young men who understand the effects of alcohol very well and who do not hesitate to use that knowledge to manipulate young women into sexual acts that they might not otherwise agree to and may regret later. Many blame themselves in their naivete, not comprehending that it was in fact the alcohol that caused them to act out of character. After all, the media connects alcohol to images of people having fun, dancing, barbecueing, laughing. When was the last time you saw an alcohol commercial depict a mussed-up person puking into a public toilet?

Many college parties include the serving of potent spirits that can reduce an experienced drinker to mush in short order. Some of these - like vodka and whiskey - have a tendency to provoke violent behavior. Some just run over their victim like a Mack truck (think tequila and grain alcohol). Since parents don't talk to their kids openly about alcohol and explain its effects to them, young people are left to learn by experience. And lots of public property gets broken in the process.

Sometimes ignorance is downright dangerous. Any emergency room employee can tell you horror stories about young people who drink too much and are afraid to call for help when things get out of control. That we allow this to continue happening is collective negligence.

Young people deserve to be armed with the knowledge of how alcohol affects them. They deserve to learn it in the safety of their homes, under the supervision of their loving families, not from TV commercials, or alone in dirty frat houses where their self-respect and self-esteem may be irreparably damaged. College should be a time of education, but many kids are so enthralled by the pent-up mystery of drinking that it becomes central to their experience. Take away the mystery, and what you have is something to be enjoyed in its proper time, place, and amount...as it should be.

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