With prom coming up for North Polk High School students many wait anxiously to put on their best outfit, dance and overall have a good time. While this is to be expected and encouraged, the school also wants to make sure that students continue to be safe through the weekend. In the past years during the week of prom the school has hosted various speakers about driving safety and their personal motives on education teenagers in specific. While some talk about intoxicated driving and others about texting and driving, they all came down to the same conclusion–safety and good choices should always be practiced.
April is the month of awareness for many different causes; Earth Month, Stress Awareness Month and many more, one of which being alcohol. Though many people are not aware and/or choose to ignore it, alcohol is one of the most used and normalized drugs. With this normalization also comes the normalization of drinking alcohol among teenagers and or people considered pre-teens.
As seen in the graph below, alcohol as of 2022 was the lead drug used among teenagers per month in the United States (U.S.). According to Statista, in this year there were about 21.64 million people from the ages of 15-19 in the U.S. meaning that about an alarming 3,267,640 cases of underage drinking occurred per month, not counting those with the ages of 12-13 or 20. To put that into perspective, Iowa has about 66,000 people less than this amount.
Though drinking alcohol can lead to addiction within any age group, teenagers are especially susceptible. The poster on the left at the top of the article pointed out that drinking can cause negative effects on teenagers due to their brains not being fully developed. Seen on the poster are examples of other consequences that follow teenagers drinking. One is also able to see some resources and plans of action when dealing with alcohol.
With prom being a mere week away, one could see many possible consequences occurring after the dance if students were to get involved with drinking, including the possibility of a car accident.
“It’s no secret that teens have after parties probably with alcohol, that’s always been a thing,” explained an anonymous Des Moines School District parent before adding “I would just hope kids were smart enough to know that it’s not safe.”
This knowledge was what brought Deputy Riley Blaylock to make announcements throughout prom week as written by Olivia Moody in the story “Driving Awareness Week Amidst Prom.”
This announcement was one of the yearly reminders for drivers on the week of Prom. This year, guest speaker Karen Torres shared countless stories about the lives taken by distracted drivers, including her own father. While there were some tone lightening moments to the assembly, students were given the annual reality check on driving safety not only for prom, but for all days of the year.
“It was really hard seeing the montage [of people who had passed away], especially the kids, that’s where I started crying” expressed junior Reis Estey. Furthermore, junior Ruby Chrisco explained “it really makes me feel back because I do use my phone sometimes but after seeing all this I’m going to change.”
If one or one’s friend is dealing with problems with alcohol and does not know how to handle it, resources such as Caron, the American Addiction Centers, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administrations Helpline and more are available. Furthermore, one is able to talk to a trusted adult about either themselves or a friend at school or at school.
Furthermore, in regards to other forms of distracted driving as mentioned at the assembly on April 26, Torres encouraged students to think about the lives of those put in danger when driving distracted. Moreover, she encouraged those who were passengers to call out their drivers if they saw them distracted by their phones, surroundings or other circumstances.
Sources:
https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/alcohol
https://www.all4udad.com/
