The following recommendations, not in priority order, which come by unanimous consent of the Joint Task Force in recognition of a public health crisis in our community, are intended to reduce the safety, health and social problems caused by underage alcohol use. The recommendations are presented to Mayor Kennedy, President Martin and Chancellor Hemenway as one document with the expectation that they will work cooperatively to review and to encourage implementation. The best solution to the problems of excessive alcohol use is the exercise of individual responsibility. None of the recommendations below are meant to detract from this observation. We recommend the training and licensing of all individuals employed to serve or sell alcoholic beverages in bars, restaurants or clubs.
Training helps servers and sales clerks observe and stop dangerous and illegal behaviors.
USD 497 should institute more required health education instruction specifically focusing on alcohol abuse. The instruction should be required for graduation. Educate the parents of USD 497 students about the magnitude of the underage drinking problem in Lawrence and encourage them to work with their children to help lessen the problem. School district personnel are stretched too thin to effectively provide adequate instruction in this important area. The surveys conducted by USD 497 show that significant drinking occurs as early as the sixth grade and that parents often are unaware of this or deny that a problem exists.