Nickelodeon-backed program aims to curb underage drinking

By Jaedda Armstrong

NORFOLK

Strawberries and whipped cream. Toast and butter. Doughnuts and coffee.

All things that mix.

Wednesday morning at Blair Middle School in Norfolk, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-3rd District, introduced a program to summer school students to teach them what doesn't mix.

Youths and alcohol.

According to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 10.8 million Americans between the ages of 12 and 20 reported alcohol use.

"Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix" is a multimedia program developed to teach parents and middle school children a key to stopping underage drinking - communicating with each other. The program was developed in 2004 by The Century Council, a nonprofit organization, and Nickelodeon.

"The No. 1 influence on teens' decisions to drink are their parents," Dana Fudurich, a spokeswoman for The Century Council, said to the group of eighth-graders.

According to the national survey, 46 percent of children say they've used alcohol at least once by the eighth grade.

That's why Jeanne Kruger, principal of Blair Middle School, said the program is a must for her students.

"Middle school students are at a vulnerable age," Kruger said. "They get more freedom, and they don't have the maturity to handle the decision-making that comes with that freedom."

After words about the dangers of drinking and driving from Scott and Esther Vassar, a commissioner for the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the students browsed the program's interactive Web site. Then they took a verbal quiz.

There are creative ways to say no to drinking, Fudurich said. She asked the group to give her some examples.

"I'm with my family," a student answered.

"I have a future," another replied.

"I want to have a good life," someone said.

"These are some very mature responses," Fudurich said. "I usually don't hear these at the middle school level."

After the program, Quiniece Johnson, 14, said she now understands the dangers that come with drinking.

"You just have to use your brain before you drink or smoke," Johnson said. "Just wait until you get grown and be careful because it can kill you."

Jaedda Armstrong, (757) 446-2346, jaedda.armstrong@pilotonline.com