SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2017
Drinking
from 1A
Nicole had her first drink was
in elementary school.
“Rum and coke,” she said. “It
was a family reunion. My great
grandpa handed it to me, saying,
‘Hey do you want this?’”
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alcohol is fairly typical, according
to Lane County Community
Health Analyst Emily Buff Bear,
who helped form the Healthy
Directions initiative in Florence.
“Unlike a more urban area, like
Eugene, where the alcohol is pro-
vided by friends who are 21, we
don’t have many people of that
age group in Florence,” she said.
“They usually move away. The
data shows us that teens get alco-
hol from an adult.”
For a few of the teenagers of
the Siuslaw region, their introduc-
tion to alcohol was also made by
family members.
Six local teens were inter-
viewed for this article. Four had
tried drinking, but only two con-
sidered themselves “drinkers.” Of
those, only one had alcohol within
the last month.
Wine was a common introduc-
tion for many of the teens.
One joked, “My first time hav-
ing alcohol was on accident. I was
about 10 and I thought it was my
glass of milk. Unfortunately, it
was not.”
However, their first real taste of
alcohol came from a family mem-
ber.
“It was a sip of wine when my
aunt asked me if I wanted to try
it,” they said. “I was about 16 or
17.”
Another teen, who chooses not
to drink, said, “The kids who have
older siblings and friends who do
that kind of thing can get it.”
Another stated, “I think that
depends on whether anyone in
their house drinks, because if they
don’t have alcohol in their house,
then probably not. It’s not like you
can just go to the store and they’ll
say, ‘Oh hey, I know you’re giving
this to your family, so I’ll sell it to
you.’ You still get carded here.”
Healthy Directions knows that
family members sometimes give
youth alcohol, which is why the
coalition focuses mainly on adults
in its efforts.
“It’s coming from adults
who’ve decided that youth are
going to drink,” Buff Bear said.
“Parents have told Healthy
Directions that they’re providing a
safe place for a kid to drink.”
As to why youth decide to
drink or not, the reasons varied, as
did the attitudes towards those
who made different choices.
“Common sense,” said one
youth who opted not to drink.
“I’ve never had a thirst for it. I
know alcoholism runs in my fam-
ily on both sides, so I know that
there is a chance for me to get
hooked on it. That’s why I mostly
stay away from it.”
Another said, “The fact that it
inebriates people so they aren’t
themselves, that just freaks me
out.”
Those who didn’t drink often
held a lower opinion of those who
did.
One stated, “They should be
like, ‘I’m worth more than this, I
shouldn’t be damaging my body
this way.’ I don’t think any lower
of anyone for making mistakes,
but I don’t think it’s a very good
thing to do at the same time.”
Others were more blunt about
their peers: “I often do think lower
of them, unfortunately. Humans
often judge too quickly, but that is
our nature. I don’t know what
caused them to start drinking, but
I do hope they find help.”
“Well, I think it reflects that
they don’t care about laws, or their
health,” another said. “They don’t
really respect themselves. It’s
damaging their body at a really
young age, so it just shows that
they don’t care about their well
being. They probably don’t think
they have a future.”
However, those who drank
semi-regularly had a higher opin-
ion of those who didn’t.
One said, “Good for them hon-
estly. Keep doing what you’re
doing, because drinking gets you
nowhere but down the wrong
road.”
“I think it’s fine if they want to
live different lives than other peo-
ple do. Whatever you wanna do is
what you want to do.”
As to why they began drinking,
both listed friends.
One of them said, “I just want-
ed to try it, I guess. I tried it the
summer after sophomore year. I
have a friend who had it. I think
it’s a normal thing. It can be a big
deal, causing a lot of bad things to
happen, but you can’t really stop
it.”
The other said, “A couple
friends really pushed me to it, so I
tried it. They brought it over. I’d
say it’s normal for teens to experi-
ment with alcohol before they are
21.”
Normal was a word repeated
throughout the conversations.
“I feel like it is such a big issue
that it’s become normal,” one said.
“People just expect kids to do it.
People just assume those kids do it
because most of them do.”
Youth drinking is “Americana.”
In this year’s upcoming Rods
’n’ Rhodies festival, the theme is
“American Graffiti,” based on
George Lucas’ influential 1973
high school film.
One of the most memorable
scenes in the film involves under-
age Charles Martin Smith as he
attempts to slyly buy liquor at a
convenience store.
“I’ll have a Three Musketeers,
a ball point pen, one of those
combs, a pint of Old Harper and
some beef jerky,” Smith said, hop-
ing the cashier wouldn’t think the
pint of whiskey was out of the
ordinary.
Of course, the cashier does and
Smith is turned away.
Teens attempting to get alcohol,
and the glorious moment they
finally obtain it, is a constant
theme throughout films.
The list is limitless: “Fast
Times at Ridgemont High,”
“Dazed
and
Confused,”
“American Pie,” “Teen Wolf,”
“Superbad,” etc. Even Harry
Potter and his friends enjoy the
“slightly alcoholic” wizarding
beverage Butterbeer.
“I think it is portrayed as nor-
mal in movies, but it is an issue,”
said one teen.
“I’d say our culture has really
glorified it,” Buff Bear stated. “It
feels like everybody is drinking.”
The point is clear: Teens want
to drink, they will obtain alcohol
and it’s just normal and fun.
While entertainment may play
a role in normalizing youth drink-
ing, Buff Bear believes advertis-
ing is also a major factor.
“If a teen sees a lot of advertis-
ing and they see a lot of bars and
they see adults drinking, then it
normalizes it. It can change the
behavior for our youth. And youth
like to think that they’re adults;
they like to do adult things. And if
they see things that they think is
normal adult behavior, then
they’re going to do that.”
The majority of restaurants in
Old Town Florence have promi-
nent bars in them; carefully curat-
ed and lit bottles of fine liquors
stacked in elegant areas that some-
times act as the centerpiece of an
establishment.
“I wish that bars didn’t seem
like the cool place to be,” Nicole
said. “Not all restaurants are kid
friendly.”
Abby’s Pizza is Florence’s
perennial youth destination. It
hosts countless graduation and
birthday parties. Video games line
the walls, including a claw
machine game that has Blu-rays of
Disney Classics for prizes.
Behind the tall pickup counter
rests two large beer steins with
various taps protruding from
them. Prices and brands are
prominently displayed around
them, along with warnings against
selling to minors.
Healthy Directions will be hon-
oring Abby’s for its work in pre-
venting underage drinking by not
7 A
selling to minors, but as far as the
cultural aspects of prominent
alcohol consumption in a family
atmosphere, Abby’s General
Manager Kristi Robinson had
mixed feelings.
Asked if the advertisements for
beer in Abby’s has the ability to
influence a child into drinking,
Robinson stated, “I don’t think
they’re advertising to kids, just
what their product is. I don’t think
if they see something in a store
window they’ll say, ‘Oh, I’m
going to go buy that.’”
“Obviously they can’t buy it,”
Robinson continued. “By the time
they’re old enough to understand
what it is, they should know that
they’re not supposed to do it, if
they’re taught that way.”
Robinson confesses she doesn’t
really drink, so normalization has-
n’t crossed her mind much. She’s
told her kids not to drink, and she
does believe that the media does-
n’t do enough to present the harm-
ful effects of alcohol in any mean-
ingful way.
But as to Abby’s role in pro-
moting alcohol?
“I don’t know,” she said. “The
adults can have a beer when the
kids are having a party, but they’re
not overindulging. I don’t think
there’s anything wrong with it. It
is kind of normal. There’s so many
people who believe beer and pizza
go together. But if they’re adults
and they have a driver, they’re
responsible adults who have a
right. I don’t know if we normal-
ize it. I never really thought of it
that way.”
While it’s easy to condemn
youth who drink, it’s more diffi-
cult for adults to grasp their role in
how alcohol is presented to youth.
Should adults be forever vigilant
in how they drink in public, hyper-
aware of children that may be in
the vicinity?
Nicole, after all of her issues
with alcohol, still wishes that chil-
dren had a more nuanced view of
the discussion.
“I think children seeing parents
drink in moderation is very impor-
tant, because drinking is not a bad
thing,” she said. “I think parents
should drink without the kids
judging them. It is ‘normalizing’
it. When my son sees someone
drinking, he asks me about it. I
told him when he’s an adult, he
can make that choice. Some adults
can drink, some adults shouldn’t
drink.”
While the discussion revolving
around normalization will last for
years to come, there are current
ways to stem youth drinking with-
in the current cultural framework.
In Wednesday’s issue, find out
how establishments like Healthy
Directions and Abby’s Pizza are
working to do just that.
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