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By DREW KERR
dkerr@poststar.com
Published:
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Post Star
SARATOGA SPRINGS --
Casey Slone has seen the movies -- classics like "Fast Times at
Ridgemont High" and "Dazed and Confused" and the more recent
high school flicks "American Pie" and "Superbad."
The movies cast a vision of high school that centers on pool
parties, red plastic cups filled at the keg and loosely rolled
doobies making the rounds in the wee morning hours.
"It's glorified that you're going to go out and get drunk," the
17-year-old senior and school class president said. "But I was
really surprised at how little that actually goes on. Truth be
told, you actually get more credit if you don't drink or do
drugs. People say 'Wow, that person won't succumb.' "
Organizers of a first-of-its kind summit
on teen substance abuse Saturday at Saratoga Springs High School
say that's the kind of mentality they hope to cultivate through
dialogue, community involvement and a renewed focus on the issue
of substance abuse among city teenagers.
Statistics show they may be up for a challenge.
A 2006 youth and parent survey by the Saratoga Partnership for
Prevention shows Saratoga Springs High School students are binge
drinking and using marijuana in numbers above the national
average. Twenty-five percent of 11th and 12th graders reported
being drunk or high at school within the last year, according to
the survey, which prompted the summit.
Overcoming those numbers, organizers said, may involve a look at
the very nature of the city itself.
Between the Saratoga Race Course, Caroline Street and
alcohol-friendly entertainment venues like the Saratoga
Performing Arts Center, the Spa City is a well- known party
destination.
Parents and substance abuse experts at the summit said
overcoming that culture -- and the acceptance of it -- is one of
their chief concerns.
"I think it's very
difficult for a community to put forward a different message
when it's such an attractive party destination," said Judy Ekman,
the executive director of the Prevention Council, which
co-sponsored the event with the Saratoga County District
Attorney's Office.
"While that environment may be very positive for the town, it
can be a real challenge to teenagers," Ekman said.
Though teenagers spend only six hours at school each day, many
said what happens in its confines is also important.
School leaders were encouraged to offer additional clubs and
encourage participation in events aside from sports, which may
actually invite more risk-taking behavior, according to experts.
"The school doesn't want to solve all the problems of the
community, but the fact is, for the kids, the school is there
life," said John Kelly, a Saratoga Springs police officer who
serves as the high school's resource officer.
Michael Neary, a
nationally renowned expert on teen substance abuse, gave the
100-plus in attendance a keynote address that centered on the
science behind teen risk-taking.
He said though teens may understand the dangers, they more often
crave risks than adults.
"Kids have no greater myth of invincibility than we as adults
have," he said. "But this is a brain that can not project itself
15 years down the road and understand the risk of drinking
today."
Though it may seem a daunting task, teachers, parents, students
and law enforcement representatives came to an optimistic
consensus after the nearly four-hour meeting: The problem can be
overcome.
That group includes Saratoga Springs Superintendent Janice White
who said the summit will provide a basis for future prevention
efforts and that meetings of its kind may become regularly
scheduled.
"We now need to collect
our thoughts, harness the energy stimulated today, and take the
next step," she said.
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