Photo: Abby Fox

Some prom attendees this year know in advance they aren’t drinking, such as junior Kaileen Streker, here with drug counselor Bob Houghtaling. “It just doesn’t happen,” she said, in her group of friends. “Everyone hangs out.”
Kristin Purvis agreed with her. “It’s going to be there; it doesn’t offend me. Other people are going to, but I don’t have to,” she said. “I don’t want to lose control of myself and do something that I’ll regret the next day. I want to make sure I can drive, if no one else can.” Another junior, Rachel Wollin, said, “I know a lot of kids have been talking about it – I just don’t get it. I’m completely 100 percent against it. There’s no point.” She and her boyfriend have plans to watch movies afterward, she said.
Drug counselor Bob Houghtaling said, “There are some kids that view it [drinking] as a rite of passage and there are parents saying it’s OK to break the law, as long as you break the law safely, and that creates a double message.”