TV commercials, magazine advertisements, and celebrity endorsement romanticize alcohol as a social lubricant. 

Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug in the United States with young people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Underage drinking is common at high school parties and teenage sleepovers. At PA, however, the number of students partaking in the illegal drinking has decreased in comparison to previous years, said headmaster Mr. Famulari.

This could be due to the fact that most teenagers interact with one another online primarily as opposed to in person, according to Jean Twenge’s article “Have Smartphones destroyed a Generation” in “The Atlantic.”

Every year before prom, Mr. Famulari has a discussion in the auditorium with students planning on attending, urging prom-goers to “make good decisions.”

He tells the students that they have plenty of time in their lives to be adults and encourages them to enjoy these few short years of adolescence and its limitations.

Mr. Famulari is acting on the sound advice from experts.

“It is critical that parents and other trusted adults initiate conversations with kids about underage drinking well in advance of the first time they are faced with a decision regarding alcohol,” said Xavier Becerra, The California Attorney General.

Some teenagers believe that drinking alcohol helps them in uncomfortable social situations.

However, students who engage in underage drinking experience higher absences, poor grades, and are at a greater risk for early death, according to the CDC.

“You have to educate and you have to do something very strong,” said President Donald Trump in regards to the drug and alcohol issues in New Hampshire.

Pembroke Academy has severe consequences for possession of drugs and alcohol on campus, enacting a zero tolerance policy and anyone caught will be immediately suspended.