Teens get involved in fight to curb underage drinking
By Miguel Morales miguel@theacorn.com

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers NOT SO BRILLIANT- Royal High students Hila Assifi, 17, Celene Fuller, 17 and Lisa Chauv, 17, assessed stores for liquor placement and availability as part of a watchdog program conducted Friday at 15 local alcohol retailers. Students from both Royal and Apollo highs volunteered to be part of the study that was organized by the Coalition for Simi Valley Youth and Community.

As the beads of condensation rolled down the neoncolored six-pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade, Lisa Chauv, a 17year-old senior at Royal High School, carefully looked around for any cameras or employees who might see her slip one of the bottles into her purse.

But Chauv didn't intend on pocketing the alcohol. She and two of her classmates, Hila Assifi, 17, and Celene Fuller, 17, were taking part in an alcohol assessment project that asked them to get in the mindset of minors who look to get alcohol by any means necessary.

In the study, which took place last Friday, students from Royal and Apollo high schools teamed up with volunteers from Simi Valley Youth Council and Straight Up Ventura County to conduct a surprise survey of 15 randomly chosen local alcohol retailers. The goal was to provide the retailers with tips to discourage underage drinking. Students at Simi Valley and Santa Susana high schools were also contacted but none took part in the survey.

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers UNDER SCRUTINY- Fuller, Chauv and Assifi take a look at a shelf full of alcohol to see what products have packaging that might be appealing to underage drinkers.

The Coalition for Simi Valley Youth and Community organized the study that Chauv, Fuller, Assifi and their classmates took part in. The coalition will analyze the results of the survey and determine appropriate steps to take next, according to coordinator Kristin Tignac.

Fuller, a senior at Royal, entered a Vons in Simi and said she was shocked to find the alcohol section only a few yards from the entrance and even closer to the Easter candy. Students saw similar set-ups at other businesses.

"I would have never thought to look for alcohol next to little kids' stuff," Fuller said. "That was pretty shocking."

June Booth, Vons assistant manager, said all checkers have special training in spotting potential minors trying to buy alcohol.

"All employees that are checking are trained to ID any individual that is 30 years old or under, and they have the discretion of turning them away," Booth said.

The assistant manager said she hasn't had a problem at Vons with teens stealing alcohol but said she's heard of other stores that do.

The goal of Friday's project was more than just to identify product placement and determine its target audience, Tignac said. She said she hopes the study serves as a tool to help reduce social and retail access of alcohol by Simi's youth. Some of the methods that minors use to obtain alcohol are to steal it or have an older peer buy it for them, she said.

"Right now we are focused on the alcohol," Tignac said. "It could lead to substance abuse in general because it's coming out in our studies that a lot of times they're (being used) together."

Another recent study conducted by the coalition, according to Tignac, revealed that 89 percent of ninth- and 12th-grade students said it was "somewhat easy to extremely easy" to get alcohol.

Getting liquor retailers to refuse to carry alcohol products that are packaged in ways that appeal to youth and to eliminate price reductions on alcohol are two objectives that may deter youths from purchasing alcohol, the coalition determined.

Adult volunteer Nancy Lukunich, a member of the coalition, was on hand for Friday's activities.

Lukunich said she was impressed with the level of character demonstrated by the students who volunteered to give up their Friday afternoons to take part.

"These are leadership type of kids; these are our future leaders," she said. "They care and they are not afraid to stick their noses out there."

A longtime community member and volunteer, Lukunich said she believes there is more going on in Simi than residents are aware of.

Melody Liquor is in the shopping center in front of Simi Valley High, one of the schools that didn't participate in the survey.

The store's manager, Moe Barakat, said he can remember three times when he was actually robbed- all three times by young kids, he said.

"I blame the parents," Barakat said. "If the parents didn't let their children loiter around after school, things like this wouldn't happen."

Lukunich said until communities can learn better ways of keeping alcohol out of the hands of teens, alcohol-related deaths will continue to be a threat.

"If teens could not get the alcohol, then there would be no need for the coalition and what we did Friday," she said. "Every teen will tell you if you want something, there are ways of getting it."

The data collected in Friday's survey will be compiled and presented to the businesses but not released to the public.

Coalition coordinator Kristin Tignac can be reached at (805) 955-9052 or by e-mail at Ktiggy@adelphia.net.