Tulips that teach: CACTC's Red Ribbon Campaign announces two contests

Just when you think you'll die before you see the end of winter, spring comes along saying, "See? It wasn't that bad, was it?"

So here we are in April, shaking off the winter dust and doldrums, during Alcohol Awareness month. Prom and Graduation parties are nearly upon us. With all the excitement, it's important to keep a few serious thoughts in operation while you're planning the festivities---or planning to attend them.

Proms and graduations have served as rites of passage for decades. No parent can look at his/her child, scrubbed and shining and looking like royalty, without recognizing that some dramatic changes have taken place. But the changes on the inside haven't caught up with the changes on the outside, and most likely won't do so for another 4 to 5 years. The project isn't finished.

New research in the area of brain development points to strong evidence that the integration of the various brain tasks and the completion of the "wiring" of the brain's frontal lobe continue on until the mid-20's for many young people. These are not just "finishing touches" that are incomplete; these include the wiring and development necessary for this young person to become a happy, successful adult. This not-yet-developed area of the brain has to do with accurate assessment of social cues; it allows for "reading" a situation and deciding upon an appropriate course of action. It involves aiming at the future and plotting a course of action, and it includes strengthening the ability to make good decisions while experiencing strong emotions.

With all of these important skills yet to become incorporated into our young peoples' repertoire, it just makes sense that the use of substances --cluding alcohol-- is certainly far from helpful, if not outright destructive, no matter how "grown-up" their clothes might make them look.

Underage drinking and other substance use affect our entire community. They affect our future by compromising the potential of the young people who will be the movers and shakers of the next decades. More often than not, when young people drink alcohol, it's been provided by an adult. Perhaps the adult serves it at a party, or a store clerk doesn't check ID. Maybe an older friend or sibling buys it from someone who knowingly serves minors. It is up to us, as the real adults, to set the tone around drinking for our youth at an early age, and to hold the line when they start looking "close enough" to the legal age. It is up to all of us to value our children as shapers of Cortland's future as well as designers of their own lives.

There is too much at stake for parents and other caring adults to let down their guard at prom and graduation time and pretend that tough decisions aren't out there to be made. We can all help each other remember what we are about, and that is a safer, healthier Cortland for our families.

Cortland Area Communities That Care Coalition recognizes that parents and other concerned adults play critical roles in protecting our area youth from the dangers of underage drinking. It is important for parents and guardians to discuss issues with their children and expectations with consequences must be established. To support such intergenerational conversations, CACTC is announcing the spring portion of its annual Red Ribbon Campaign against alcohol and drug abuse by promoting two contests, the Tulip Photo Contest and Find the Tulips.

Contest rules can be located at the CACTC website at www.cortlandareacactc.org or by stopping by or calling Catholic Charities 756-5992 ext 25. As you look for red tulips, remember that red often symbolizes stop, be careful, danger. Take pictures, provide addresses, but, most of all, discuss underage drinking with your children. Feel free to contact Joan Stivers or Kristen Case at 7V CASA at 756-8970 or CACTC Project Coordinator Judie Murphy at 756-5992 ext 25 for assistance.

Joan Stivers is Executive Director of 7 Valleys Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and Vice-president of CACTC. She also teaches courses on issues on alcohol and substance abuse issues and prevention at TC3.