Beverly Hills Drive : Parents Sign Pledge Against Teen Drinking

In response to a campaign to encourage Beverly Hills teen-agers to remain sober, 563 parents have signed pledges promising that they will not allow youngsters to use drugs or alcohol in their homes.

The 563 signatures, representing about 350 families, were gathered by a task force run by the Beverly Hills Council of PTAs. The group mailed the pledges to more than 3,000 Beverly Hills households in November, urging parents to create a network of “safe homes,” where teen-agers are not permitted to use alcohol or drugs.

Organizers had hoped to enlist about 1,000 families in the campaign when the program started last fall, but they said they were satisfied with the response.

“I’m delighted with the number of signatures we have gathered; it’s a nice number,” said Dr. Tricia Roth, a pediatrician who heads the task force. “It means that the problems (of teen-age drug and alcohol abuse) are being discussed. We have come a long way. Before, it seemed like people were afraid to even talk about it.”

Some Declined to Sign

But Roth and others involved in the campaign were surprised that many prominent members of the community, including a city councilman and some activists in the fight against teen-age substance abuse, declined to put their names on the pledge. It had the support of the school district, the City Council, the police and six community organizations.

In the pledge, parents were asked not to allow minors to use drugs or alcohol in their homes; not to allow parties in their homes without adult supervision, and to promise to “talk openly” about the pledge with others. The pledge also warned parents that they may be held legally liable for damages or injuries caused by a minor who was served alcoholic beverages in their home.

Donna Rosen, a mother of two teen-agers who has been involved in organizing programs against drug and alcohol abuse, said that she did not sign because she was concerned that the pledge could be used to hold a parent legally responsible if a minor was injured after leaving a house where alcohol was served. “I felt uncomfortable with it,” she said.

Kenneth Goldman, another parent and active community leader, praised the program, but also declined to sign. He said there were “numerous other avenues that can and should be explored at the high-school level by the students themselves” before pursuing the pledges of parents. Goldman said he would prefer that more energy be spent to establish a center where teen-agers could have parties and gather in an atmosphere free of drugs and alcohol.

City Councilman Allan L. Alexander voted to support the city’s sponsorship of the pledge, but he said he declined to sign on “personal grounds.” He said he disagreed with language that would require him to prevent his 19-year-old son from having an occasional glass of wine or beer at home.

“I had some concerns about the restrictiveness of the language,” he said. “I would not serve liquor at a party in my house to minors. However, I have allowed my children to try alcoholic beverages in my own home and I think that other parents do the same.”

Alexander said that a total prohibition against drinking would force minors to try liquor outside the house.

“I grew up with that atmosphere in my house,” he said. “My father always let me have a drink at home if I wanted it. I could not go out after I drank. I have ended up having no alcohol problems, and, in fact, I drink very, very rarely, almost never.”

But Roth, who heads the task force, said that times have changed since the days when Alexander grew up. “Things are different today,” she said. “There is less supervision, kids are driving more and at an earlier age. It is a different environment today.”

Roth said the parents’ group is seeking suggestions from parents on how to cover the loopholes and make the pledge more popular in the next school year.

Dana Tomarken, president of the Beverly Hills Board of Education, said the pledge has helped teach the community that unsupervised parties are a problem.

“I know that kids will be kids, but parents need to know that this is going on because someone could get hurt. The important thing is that we keep our kids safe.”