Reality party is reality check for parents

By Nanette Light

With adults as bystanders, teens chugged beer through a beer bong, played several rounds of beer pong and broke out into a fight match.

But it was all pretend.

Adults were invited to a staged high school house party, one of 18 "Reality Parties" held across the state, Wednesday, where they caught a peak of minors' untraditional avenues for snagging alcohol and what happens when they start drinking.

"There's a lot of underage drinking going on in Norman, just as much as in any other community, and we need to address it," said Janice Wilson, director of Norman's Area Prevention Resource Center and coordinator of Norman's reality party.

Norman Addiction Information and Counseling, 215 W. Linn St., hosted Norman's party, which consisted of a 25-minute group tour through the Edsel Ford House of Griffin Memorial Hospital.

Members of the Norman High School drama department acted out the party scene, explaining during the walk-through how teens divert their parents' attention from their partying -- tell one parent the sleepover's at another house and vice versa -- and how they secure the alcohol.

"Drinking is not a good thing, and I think we're all pretty well aware of that and have seen the negative aspects of that," said Caitlin Royse, a junior at Norman High who directed the acting and said she doesn't party. "But I do have friends, and I hear the stories. You always hear the stories no matter how good you are."

In the first room, parents watched as the teens constructed a beer bong from a funnel and plastic tubing, explaining that this helps them chug two to three beers in a matter of minutes.

"It's like we have to prove who can handle the most alcohol," said Royse as she narrated the scene for parents, adding that social network sites like Facebook and MySpace spread the word of parties.

The tour followed Royse into the kitchen where an actor explained how he fools his parents with alcoholic energy drinks.

"They never know the difference," he said.

Another actress explained how easy it is to obtain alcohol underage, adding that she pulls the "hey mister" thing, and they usually remember how it was and cave.

Upstairs the "intoxicated" actors of guys and girls lounged on a bed in a dimly lit room explaining the intimate details of drinking that often lead to bisexual behavior and unprotected sex.

"Oh no, we don't have to watch this do we?" said one parent as she entered the room.

Back downstairs, as a Ping-Pong ball bounced back and forth during a game of beer pong with a little bit of pong and a lot of drinking, a fight broke out, and parents steered clear of the staged punches.

"No, Matt. You shouldn't drive," said a girl actor as the door slammed in her face following her friend's exit from the party after the fight.

When a policewoman arrived to break up the party, the parent supervising explained she didn't want to "damper" the teens' fun, and had taken their keys as an added precaution.

The officer explained the woman was breaking Norman's Social Host Ordinance, which was established last year to hold homeowners responsible for underage drinking and carries a fine of $750 or 60 days in jail.

Norman filed 13 Social Host Ordinance violations in 2008 and 30 in 2009, said Cindy Robins, chief deputy clerk for the City of Norman municipal court, during a discussion with community leaders, city officials and law enforcement that followed the tour. Robins helped pass Norman's Social Host Ordinance.

Officer Sean Hawkins of the Norman Police Department said in the last 12 months, the department has responded to 60 overdoses for people ages 20 and under.

"We have to not be afraid of our kids," said Stephanie Royse, Caitlin's mom who attended the party to get a refresher of what it's like to be a teenager. "Stay informed. Ask them where they're going. It's our job."

Nanette Light 366-3533 pop@normantranscript.com