Lesson Offered on Being Life, Death of Party

The dean of students at Westlake High School recently donned a black, hooded cape and spent the day randomly calling seniors out of class to inform the startled teens of their untimely death.

David Graber wanted his students to see the consequences of drinking and driving firsthand: that the friend who sits by you during English class could be the next alcohol-related fatality.

“I did the whole Grim Reaper bit with a scythe and everything,” Graber said. “If you get kids to consider their own mortality, they’ll be less apt to get behind a wheel while compromised.”

Graber even painted his victims’ faces white to underscore the message and prevent any resurrections during lunch period.

Campaigns to warn students about the dangers of underage drinking have become common. But at Westlake, educators pull out all the stops to get their point across.

In April, before the senior prom, the school sent 1,800 students to the football stadium, where they watched a rescue helicopter swoop down to the 50-yard line to two crashed cars filled with drama students wearing bloody stage makeup.

“It was quite a production,” Graber said of the fatal accident reenactment, which used 100 volunteers, including personnel from the county sheriff’s and fire departments.

Despite such efforts, Graber concedes that teens are still drinking.

“No matter how hard you try, kids will use alcohol,” he said. “We have influence--not control.”

But it doesn’t mean the campaigns are not working.

“They definitely have an impact,” Graber said. “The more kids consider the ramifications and possible tragedy, the less chance they’ll drink and drive.”

Jesse Gloyd, a senior at Ventura High School, said teachers might be pushing the message too much.

“People have been saying it for so long, we’ve been desensitized. It’s just another catch phrase,” the 17-year-old said. “Kids will watch the videos and laugh, saying it’s stupid. They aren’t taking it seriously.”

Ventura junior Dee Montero agreed.

“We’ve been bombarded by it since we were 5 years old, watching Saturday morning cartoons,” said Dee, also 17.

Both students said teens will decide for themselves how they will act when it comes to alcohol.

“A lot comes down to basic common sense, and most kids have it,” Jesse said. “It’s up to the individual to make the right decision.”

Dee said she has noticed a trend.

“I don’t think kids drink and drive much anymore. That’s more a thing of the ‘80s. Kids are smarter now,” Dee said. “The ones who do drink plan around it by designating a driver or sleeping over at someone’s house.”

Figures for Ventura County were not readily available, but a recent study of trauma centers in Orange County showed a noticeable drop in the number of incidents involving teens and alcohol since 1987.

Ventura sophomore Scott Ellis said he thinks the barrage of anti-drinking campaigns has been effective.

“I’ve seen enough videos and horror stories in driver’s training to say it has made an impression,” the 16-year-old said.

Those are words that signal a small victory for Dave Hess, Ventura High’s student activities advisor.

“It’s really difficult for schools to do anything other than make kids aware of the consequences of drinking,” Hess said.

Ventura High, like many other schools, sponsors an all-night graduation party that gives seniors a chance to gather in a fun, safe and alcohol-free setting. Ventura also has a “Friday Night Live” club that plans late-night weekend activities.

When teens freely admit they do drink, Hess said it often puts teachers and parents in the uncomfortable position of making sure the kids stay safe while not condoning the activity.

Oak Park school trustee and parent Jeri Fox resigned from the school board last year after students were allowed to drink alcohol during a post-homecoming party at her home.

“I think that’s a mistake,” Hess said. “You need to send the message it is not OK to drink. Yes, I put more emphasis on telling kids to stay alive and don’t drink and drive. But I don’t say it’s OK to drink. I tell them you’re going to make a lot of dumb mistakes as a kid, and drinking will just make them worse.”

Rob Hall, a history teacher and varsity basketball coach at Oak Park High School, said he is determined to change the culture that quietly shrugs off alcohol use as part of an adolescent’s rite of passage.

Hall said he understands why the school trustee allowed students to drink at her home.

“She reacted out of a sense of powerlessness that you can’t stop kids from drinking, so at the very least let’s keep them from killing themselves,” Hall said. “But we have to get away from the assumption that it is inevitable kids will drink.”

As the basketball coach, with influence on some of the most popular boys in school, Hall has made team members sign contracts saying they will not drink or attend parties that have alcohol. Otherwise they will be kicked off the team.

The coach acknowledged there is no way to know if his athletes drink in secret, but by keeping them from attending open parties, Hall said he is slowly beginning to alter alcohol’s lure of “coolness.”

“These guys are role models on campus,” he said. “And if I can eliminate the high-profile guys from the three-keg party setting, then hopefully the party won’t be as attractive anymore.”

Hall also holds practices at 8 a.m. Saturday to help reduce the chances of drunken parties after Friday night games.

“It’s difficult when you’re trying to change a culture,” Hall said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. I want to make the idea that one of the things a teenager does is drink an obsolete point of view.”