Members of Talawanda’s Youth Initiative Team (YIT) and Miami’s BACCHUS organization arranged to place stickers on packages of beer at three stores in anticipation of both weekends to warn potential abusers of the possible consequences of supplying beer to underage drinkers.
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Members of the Youth Initiative team were at the Oxford Walmart on May 10, the Wednesday prior to the Miami’s graduation, and placed specially-created stickers on boxes of beer in the store warning buyers that, “Providing alcohol to anyone under the age of 21 is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.”
The red and white Sticker Shock labels were in the shape of a traffic stop sign and were provided by the Coalition of the Healthy Community Oxford Area.
After Walmart, the group was headed to KDS Express which had also consented to having the stickers on their beer packages. BACCHUS group members were going to do the same that evening at the Oxford Pit Stop.
The same stickers had been placed on beer at the same three locations a week earlier just days ahead of Talawanda’s prom.
“We are going to different stores in the community. (Prom and graduation) are big nights for students. We want to tell people not to provide alcohol to (those) under 21 and there are consequences for that,” said one of the YIT members, Christine Haidet.
This was the first time the local coalition had taken this step, although it was modeled after others around the country who have done similar things, according to Amy Macechko, the school district’s health and wellness coordinator and project coordinator for the local coalition.
“It’s a strategy used by coalitions across the country. The Fairfield coalition did it last year and they have been helping in sharing the process and idea with us,” Macechko said. “We thought it was something we wanted to try in our community.”
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She said the stickers were designed by the students with the help of the Oxford Police Department and local businesses were contacted about allowing them to be placed on packages of beer.
“We thank the three businesses—Walmart, KDS Express and Oxford Pit Stop—for participating,” Macechko said. “It is key to share the message with those buying alcohol to be sure they are not sharing it.”
On hand as the high school students were placing the stickers on packages of beer that afternoon was Rebecca Baudry Young, director of the office of Student Wellness at Miami in the Division of Student Affairs. Her BACCHUS group would be doing the same thing a few hours later and she was pleased with the joint effort of high school and college students taking a united stand against underage drinking.
BACCHUS was organized, nationally, in 1975 on a college campus.
Miami’s web site talks about the organization by noting, in part: “The BACCHUS philosophy is that students can play a uniquely effective role—unmatched by professional educators—in encouraging their peers to consider, talk honestly about and develop responsible habits and attitudes toward high-risk health and safety issues.”
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