Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Strategies for preventing underage drinking will be spotlighted during a town hall meeting Tuesday [April 29] at Mississippi State.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration and the university health education and wellness department, the hour-long program begins at noon in the Colvard Student Union's third-floor Fowlkes Auditorium.
Though open to the public, seating is limited. Seats may be reserved by contacting--as soon as possible--Joyce Yates at 662-325-7545 or jyates@saffairs.msstate.edu.
Yates, MSU's director of health education and wellness, said the program is designed to help increase community understanding of underage drinking and its consequences, as well as provide an opportunity to discuss how best to address the problem.
A Mississippi Department of Mental Health representative will help guide the program, which also will feature Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman and MSU Vice President for Student Affairs Bill Kibler. A light snack lunch will be provided, and discussion topics will include:
--Dangers of underage drinking and their community impact;
--Value of parents' discussing the issue with their children;
--How prevention reduces death, injury and associated negative outcomes; and
--Steps local communities may take to reduce alcohol demand and access by persons under the age of 21.
Yates said studies consistently show alcohol to be the substance most widely abused by American youth.
Alcohol use among children and adolescents can begin early and increase rapidly with age, leading to early-onset drinking that may be a marker for future problems, she emphasized.
For more about services of the health and wellness department, visit www.health.msstate.edu/health/staff.htm.
Complete details about Mississippi State University are available at www.msstate.edu.