North Adams Transcript
WILLIAMSTOWN -- With rolls of stickers in hand, groups of volunteers visited local package stores on Sunday in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of underage drinking.
The groups went from store-to-store, leaving the yellow and white stickers with clerks to place on packages containing multiple alcoholic beverages or doing it themselves.
The stickers state, "Hey You! It is illegal to provide alcohol for people under 21."
"We really just want to get the word out that underage drinking is dangerous and illegal," Jenna Dickinson, program coordinator for Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol at Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, said Sunday.
She said the annual "sticker shock" campaign is part of a national program, and it has been happening in North Adams sporadically for the past seven years.
"I think it's important at least once a year to remind the community of the consequences of providing alcohol to minors," she said.
Odette Klass, strategy team leader for Mount Greylock Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol, said that the human brain develops up until the age of 25, and that drinking alcohol in excess at a young age can have a negative impact on cognitive development.
"I don't think a lot of people realize the danger that the brain is still developing, and the damage from one of night of binge drinking can be lifelong," she said.
The hope is the sticker shock
Nicole Pedercini, a member of the Mount Greylock Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol, said underage drinking is a problem locally and nationwide, and many package stores know it.
"We are making a change, and package stores are aware of it. They're letting us do this, which is one step in the right direction," she said.
Dickinson said all package stores in Williamstown and Adams participated in the campaign this year.
North Adams wasn't included this year because the two area strategy teams decided to focus on the communities they cover, she said.
Pedercini, a senior at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, said she did her senior project at Mount Greylock Regional High School on underage drinking. While she doesn't remember the exact results of the surveys and tests, she does remember being surprised by the results.
"I don't think I had one survey where a student [in grades nine through 12] said ‘no, they never had a drink of alcohol,'" she said.
While Dickinson, Klass and Pedercini visited three package stores in Williamstown as part of the campaign, an additional 14 volunteers -- including members of the MCLA women's basketball team -- visited four package stores in Adams.
"We've done a good job of warning people about the dangers of drunk driving. Now we have to do more education around the safe limits of consuming alcohol for people who are of legal age," Corinne Zinna Case, strategy team leader for Adams Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol, said Sunday.
To reach Meghan Foley, e-mail mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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