Students from Somerville High School attended a seminar April 6 hosted by Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr. to educate them on the dangers of underage drinking.

By Max W. Lauf

Students from Somerville High School attended a seminar April 6 hosted by Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr. to educate them on the dangers of underage drinking and operating motor vehicles while under the influence.

The speakers, including Deputy Chief of Police Michael Cabral, and Cory Mashburn of Prevention Services in addition to Leone, placed emphasis on both the short and long term consequences of a drunk driving conviction.

Linda Donovan, a probation officer at the Somerville District Court and coordinator of a drunk driving prevention program, described the real-life repercussions of having your name attached to a CORI, specifically that a drunk-driving related arrest can preclude the offender from pursuing higher education.

The Massachusetts Social Host Responsibility Law was elaborated upon by Cabral, who warned those of legal age that they can be held responsible for enabling minors to drink or do drugs on their property.

Currently, a violation of the social host law in Massachusetts enables civil action to be taken against the homeowner if minors who have been served intoxicating substances at a private home sustain injury or are killed in a car accident as a result of their subsequent impairment.

Deputy Chief Cabral, as if to show that even the most responsible members of the community are not beyond reproach, related an anecdote in which he and his wife returned home to find their dining room table turned into a venue for the popular game of beer pong. “I had no idea you could fit so many people around that table,” said Cabral.

Cory Mashburn took a more dramatic approach, painting a vivid first-hand account of an underage driver thrown through the windshield of his car, landing the length of “a football field” away, after a collision with a telephone pole. Mashburn stated that he then witnessed the car burst into flames, killing the passengers inside.

Mashburn said that the interventions by the state are making an impact. According to him, alcohol use among high school students “has dropped nearly twenty-five percent in eight years”, from 43 percent to 33 percent.

Another student stated that he would most likely not change his plans, although he admitted that such a decision would be dependent on the circumstances. Another said that she does not normally drink, and was unaware as to whether those who would be out partying on prom night would be using designated drivers.

When asked if she would volunteer to drive, she stated that she “would want to,” but would rather they not drink in the first place.

Somerville High School athletic t-shirts were awarded to all of the guest speakers, and students were given the gift of leaflets from the D.A.’s office urging them, “Don’t Be A Statistic.”