More than half of underage drinkers at Evanston Township High School get their alcohol from adults, according to a March 2011 survey.
To combat this statistic, the Evanston Substance Abuse Prevention Council implemented Project Sticker Shock on Wednesday at stores that sell alcohol in Evanston.
The project seeks to raise awareness about the consequences of supplying alcohol to underage drinkers. Adults and youth joined forces to pepper the city with stickers containing slogans such as, “WARNING: Providing Alcohol to Minors is Illegal, Unhealthy and Unacceptable!”
ETHS senior Leiya English said in her graduating class, most students get their alcohol from older siblings or steal it from their parents. Some even ask strangers to buy for them, she added.
“I haven’t really run into one sibling that’s had a problem with it,” English said. “It’s not even a question. It’s very easy.”
The coalition, comprised of the Evanston Police Department, PEER Services, McGaw YMCA and other organizations, is hoping to target those older than 21, according to Meghan Polydoris, PEER Services Prevention Program coordinator .
“The idea behind drug prevention is you can’t just educate a child and expect them to make different decisions without impacting their environment,” she said.
The Illinois Liquor Control Commission began the Don’t Be Sorry Campaign, which is sponsoring ESAPC, three years ago. The statewide effort provides stickers, posters and decals to local groups seeking to limit underage drinking, particularly at the high school level.
Previous sticker campaigns have helped raise awareness among adults and alcohol vendors, said Sue Hofer of the ILCC.
“There’s a growing number of young people who recognize that drinking before it’s legal can be very dangerous – it can kill a kid,” Hofer said.
In order to determine whether a store is complying with liquor laws, ILCC will send an underage student to buy alcohol using their own, under-21 ID. Last fall, about 70 percent of stores surveyed statewide refused to sell alcohol to minors, Hofer said. Last month, that number rose to 82 percent. Hofer attributed the increase to sticker campaigns across the state.
Some ETHS parents question the effectiveness of the program. Cherie Hansen, ETHS Parent Teacher Student Association co-president and mother of two high-school sons, said the emphasis should be on educating underage kids.
“Its benefit is that it will scare parents from buying for younger kids,” Hansen said. “But is it going to educate and stop underage drinking in kids? No.”
Even if the campaign succeeds, teens will always find another way to obtain alcohol, she said.
In terms of drinking habits, ETHS “is just a regular high school,” English said. Many students in her grade show up to sports games and parties drunk.
They often rely on older siblings to provide them with alcohol.
“Older siblings don’t really care about the legal ramifications,” English said. “I don’t think they’re even thinking about that.”
Students who get caught seem to deserve it, she said. When they do get caught, their older siblings generally do not face punishment.
Few students use fake IDs because they are unwilling to pay a high price when they can borrow an ID from a sibling or find an alternative source of alcohol, English said.
“The kids that we hear that get caught, it’s always something so stupid,” English said. “So you realize that if you want to do this, you have to be smart.”
It is particularly important to prevent underage drinkers from having access to alcohol because they often do not recognize when they’ve had too much to drink, Hofer said.
They are more likely to get behind the wheel of a car when they are inebriated, she added.
Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl said she supports the program but does not think underage drinking is worse in Evanston than elsewhere.
“I don’t think underage drinking is a particular problem at this point in time in Evanston,” she said. “It’s always a problem, and it’s always something that we try to do our best to stop.”
During a March 21 undercover operation by the ILCC and EPD, four out of the 20 Evanston establishments they checked were caught selling liquor to underage consumers. Union Pizzeria, 1245 Chicago Ave.; Chili’s Grill and Bar, 1765 Maple Ave.; Merle’s Barbeque, 1727 Benson Ave.; and Bat 17, 1709 Benson Ave., were issued citations by the state liquor commission.
“We aim to educate servers and bartenders,” EPD Cmdr. Tom Geunther said. “When we have to, we will arrest and write tickets to those who decide to disobey the law.”
Adults who provide alcohol to minors face up to a $2,500 fine and a year in jail under Illinois law. The same laws apply to underage drinkers who use fake IDs.
Hansen said such laws make drinking taboo and may be one reason it is prevalent.
She said in the past her son has experienced drinking-related issues.
“There’s been mistakes made, I won’t pretend,” Hansen said. “We’ve had to tell our son, ‘There’s a world with laws and you have to obey them.'”
