CHAMPAGNE FLUTES THE WRONG PROM MESSAGE?

Some Schools Taking Part In 'Prom Promise' Anti-Drinking Program Offer
Alcohol-Related Favors

Murphy High School senior Ned Witte signed his name to a pledge card a few
months ago, swearing not to use alcohol or drugs as part of the nationwide
"Prom Promise" program.

When tickets for the dance went on sale, martini glasses commemorating the
event were one of two favors available for a few extra bucks.

The irony wasn't lost on Witte.

"It is kind of strange," the 17-year-old said. "They make you sign a thing
telling you you're not going to drink but then give you the glass for
drinking."

Even after some parents, students and educators questioned the use of beer
mugs and wine glasses as prom favors a few years ago, eight high schools in
the Mobile area continue offering the controversial keepsakes with prom
tickets.

Other schools, though, have traded champagne flutes for tumblers in an
attempt to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

The Mobile Register contacted people from every public high school in
Mobile and Baldwin counties, as well as the larger private schools in
Mobile -- 23 schools in all -- to ask what types of favors were available
for the prom. The newspaper also asked whether the school took park in Prom
Promise.

At Williamson in Mobile, a memory book, champagne glasses and snifters were
gifts to those who went to prom, a teacher said.

Blount High in Prichard, LeFlore High in the Toulminville community and
Citronelle High also gave away champagne flutes to those attending their
school's formal affair. Vigor's promgoers received fluted stemware.

Baldwin County High in Bay Minette, which did not take part in the Prom
Promise, passed out glass mugs to the boys and champagne flutes to the
girls as prom favors, teachers said.

Of Blount's 550 students, 379 made the commitment to stay sober on prom
night, said teacher Dorinda Franklin.

During the drive to collect signatures at Blount, tombstones were posted on
school walls, emblazoned with slogans about why teens should stay away from
drugs and alcohol.

While Franklin said the glasses they hand out are considered novelty items,
she worries about the conflicting signals aimed at students.

"I'm not sure if we are sending the right message here," she said. "We are
signing all these things, and then we are handing them champagne glasses."

The Blount teacher said a committee of juniors chose the prom favors, with
an eye on economy: "The glasses are about three dollars cheaper than candles."

Franklin said she's planning to help students try to raise more money next
year so they can spring for less-controversial souvenirs.

At B.C. Rain, tall mugs and fluted glasses were the prom favors of choice,
said Barbara Johnston, the school's prom adviser.

Despite her discouragement, upperclassmen voted to keep glasses as their
prom souvenirs. The students pay for the favors with their own money,
Johnston said.

"None of our students has ever had a problem related to drinking and
driving at prom time," she said. About 200 students signed Prom Promise
pledges at the school.

As underage students continue to be arrested for alcohol consumption and
drug use across the country, some area schools have changed what they give
away as prom mementos.

A few years ago, McGill-Toolen High School handed out beer mugs to the boys
and champagne glasses to the girls for prom.

But after call-outs at the Mitchell Center April 27, teens were presented
with regular drinking glasses decorated with a New York skyline and the
prom's theme, "Hold on to the Night."

Marie McCafferty, an English teacher who acts as a senior sponsor at
McGill, said it was her understanding that the keepsakes were changed
because "they don't want to promote underage drinking."

Some students from McGill landed in the spotlight on prom night when they
were caught with alcohol on the way to the event.

Saraland police stopped a van-load of students en route to McGill's prom
after receiving reports of bottles being thrown from the van's windows. The
school's president, the Rev. W. Bry Shields, said later that all the
students, except the driver, attended McGill.

Police said they confiscated small amounts of cocaine and marijuana, 4
gallons of liquor and four 18-packs of beer from the van. They charged a
17-year-old with possession of a controlled substance and possession of
drug paraphernalia. The van's 24-year-old driver was charged with violating
the state's open container law.

Most of the 20 or so schools in Mobile and Baldwin counties that
participate in Prom Promise use it as a focal point during a week's worth
of educational activities about the hazards of abusing alcohol and drugs.

For example, students at Theodore High School in south Mobile County
witnessed a re-enactment of an accident caused by a drunken driver, said
assistant principal Patty Parris.

Parris said authorities were on hand to "arrest" the student driver.

"The ones who were in it were affected a lot," Parris said. "They got
emotional because somebody pretended to die. Our drama department made them
up to look like they were injured."

Other area high schools have started new traditions by offering everything
from memory books to key chains as prom favors.

Members of the junior class at Alma Bryant High School in Bayou La Batre
gave seniors photo frames and handmade candles at the formal event.

Before the prom, about 850 Bryant students pledged to steer clear of drugs
and alcohol, said teacher Barbara Pruitt. Pens and plastic photo frames
were handed out to those who signed pledge cards.

At UMS-Wright in Mobile, seniors took home plastic cups filled with candy
after their prom. St. Paul's Episcopal gave out T-shirts.

At Fairhope High, nearly 100 students signed Prom Promise forms for the
April 6 event. No favors were handed out at the school, according to
faculty members and students.

Frankie Eubanks, a math teacher and prom sponsor at Satsuma in north Mobile
County, said the only containers available as keepsakes at the Feb. 22 prom
were water goblets used as table decorations and filled with chocolate bars.

"To me, a picture frame is a great favor," Eubanks said. "It symbolizes the
event. A glass is going to sit on your dresser and collect dust."

Eubanks said she has been an advocate for using other souvenirs besides
drinking glasses.

"I don't necessarily think it promotes drinking," she said. "I think
students look at it as a way to appear more mature. For the students who
are going to choose to drink they are going to choose to do so regardless.
All we can do is encourage Prom Promise."

At Daphne High School, teacher Beverly Spondike said more than 475 of the
1,400 students pledged not to drink alcohol or use drugs this year. Memory
books were given as a memento of the prom.

The Prom Promise program, started in 1990 and sponsored by Nationwide
Insurance, now reaches 2.5 million students in 35 states and the District
of Columbia.

Despite awareness campaigns, alcohol-related car crashes remain the leading
cause of death among American teens, according to a 2002 report by the
American Academy of Pediatrics.

Besides breaking a promise, those under 21 who pledged not to drink face
misdemeanor charges if caught with alcohol.

For a first conviction, the penalty usually involves a fine of between $50
and $500, the loss of a driver's license and possibly a jail term of up to
three months.

In Mobile, drinkers under 18 are booked at Strickland Youth Center. They
are put on probation, lose their driver's licenses and must participate in
a drug-prevention program.