 themselves. You can't expect old heads on young shoulders, but you can give the information, and then let them make their own decisions. There really is no other choice. I studied, then worked, many years doing both, at the university here. There is NO advertising of alcoholic beverages allowed, and it's illegal for those under 21 (most of the students). But ultimately, every student who has ever drunk a glass of anything knows that in moderation, drinking makes you feel very good. That's reality, and I don't think you can contradict reality.
My family was similar. My father's father was an alcoholic, my father said he was a holy terror when he was drunk. His parents had bought the plantation house of Cornland Plantation, Reserve, Louisiana, and he told me that when he was very small they had had a party during Prohibition there with a line of guests who made newly arrived guests crawl between their legs through a "spanking machine." Must have already been drunk. He never told me any details about his father's alcoholism, but I never saw my father drink until I was grown and wanted to drink wine with holiday dinners. Both my parents warned me about the dangers of drinking, but I think they exaggerated. I like drinking wine when I'm eating with friends, which isn't more than once or twice a year. Moderate drinking, no problems. Good for your heart.
What I'm saying is that alcohol is pushed on these college kids like heroin dealers hanging around school yards.
It is literally expected of them in spoken and unspoken messages. They don't have to go out of their way to get it. It is handed to them, shoved in their face, as part of the college culture - a culture created not by the kids, but by the colleges in cahoots with the alcohol industry. It is disgusting.
..."And we talked about how people will find illegal ways to satisfy desires such as that for alcohol whether it is legal or not..."
My paternal grandfather was an alcoholic. He was a great man in other ways and had many gifts which were never fully realized due to his issues with alcohol. Fortunately, none of his children, which included my father, carried on w/this particular trait (but thankfully carried on with some of my grandfather's other gifts). I never once saw my dad lift up a can of beer. He eschewed any and all alcohol in his life - his entire life. He witnessed the ravages of alcoholism in his daily life as a kid growing up on a scale most people might not understand.
So I've shared this info. w/our young son, when it was time and when it was age appropriate. I also shared with our son the issues with smoking and how this also can pose serious health risks. Unfortunately, my (at the time) young son of 5 years witnessed his maternal grandmother being carted out of our home w/oxygen mask strapped to her as she found herself unable to breathe, due to emphysema and bronchitis.
He's never forgotten the EMT unit who had to come to my mom's home that night. He was again - five years old; that made a huge impression on him.
So you find the need to teach your children at some point some of the real issues they will all have to confront at some point in their life time. It's not pleasant to have to sit down w/one's child and run over this morbid facts of life with them, but it's something every parent should do. Of course, teaching them via example on a daily basis is also a part of this parenting issue.
When our son turned 21 years old, his many friends took him out to celebrate. He came home late that night. I sort of teasingly asked him how his night went and asked if he'd allowed himself his first beer.
His answer was priceless. He turned to me and said that he did not have his first beer or anything else to drink for that matter. They'd all gone out to their usual hangout for burgers, etc., and then to a movie.
He's never had a cigarette either (thinks smoking is disgusting).
I am not saying that all kids are going to listen when you explain to them the issues with some of these things, but I do believe that discussion AND role modeling the behavior you expect to see from them, helps more than one might suspect.
Whether male or female, we all need to learn about responsible behavior and consequences when we know we're doing something we shouldn't do. The blame game can only go so far.
Treating all human beings and animals w/respect, including those who cannot do for themselves, is something all children should learn at their parents' knees, but that is something that isn't happening in many children's lives these days, unfortunately.
We studied Prohibition in our homeschooling last month. For a couple of weeks I started every discussion (just repeating the same thing and asking the same questions over and over, giving checks when my daughter answered correctly), by referring to a woman my daughter knows who's an alcoholic, then mentioning the many problems brought by alcoholism: ravaged health and premature death, often from liver failure, rages and stupor, the inability to function as a responsible, loving wife, husband, parent, son or daughter, employee, irresponsibility on the job, being fired, homelessness, malnutrition, drunk driving, killing innocent people in accidents, etc. etc. Then we talked about the desire of many Americans to solve these problems with Prohibition. And we talked about how people will find illegal ways to satisfy desires such as that for alcohol whether it is legal or not. And we talked about the black market, gangsterism, Al Capone, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, speakeasies and bootleg booze. And how the 18th Amendment was eventually repealed and alcohol made legal again. We talked about how now there's a black market and gangsterism to being many Americans the illegal drugs they want.
Alcohol is just always going to attract many young people. We can try to enforce existing laws against underage drinking more harshly or expand campaigns to make sure they realize the dangers that abuse of alcohol creates. I don't think we can or should do more than that.
When the current generation of parents were in their teens, the questions were asked as to whether a girl who had drunk too much was capable of consent to sex and whether a boy who had drunk too much was capable of determining whether a girl had drunk too much to be capable of consenting to sex.

Last month Barack Obama said in an interview that we live in the best time in history to be born. He cannot have looked out from his ivory tower for a long time.
Certain American college towns openly promote, push, market, alcohol consumption as a social norm. Visit any supermarket in these towns and you will find large refrigerated keg rooms at the front of the store, aisle upon aisle upon aisle again, at the front of the store, lined with wine and beer, near large young adult friendly beer displays. This in their face enculturation is not in any way opposed by the universities. They look the other way.
Another example of children being exploited and sold for profit.
Correction! I meant to write 10% of all drinking in the U.S. is underage drinkers. Still too high a number.
A bit off topic but a few things for the President to do at the State of the Union Address.
Appoint RFK Jr. to head a Vaccine Safety Commission.
Invite and introduce Dr. William Thompson of the CDC.
Announce full scale Criminal investigations into Fraud at the CDC with Autism / MMR vaccine studies.
Announce a “worldwide manhunt” for Dr. Poul Thorsen of the CDC. Void all his work.

Announced the END the 1986 “Vaccine Court” creation......... Onward!!!
I challenge Chelsea Handler, Jimmy Kimmel, and John Oliver to a public debate.
Topic: HPV vaccine safety.
I believe that aformentioned would be on the side of yea.
I am on the side of nay!
I would be most grateful to anyone who would want to help me out.
Chelsea and Jimmy and John do not approve of this message, obviously.
A caveat: I actually have been assaulted, but I was stone cold sober. Rape can happen obviously under any type of circumstance, but you really risk the chance of something happening when you behave irresponsibly - male OR female.
If you know how people generally behave (especially young students in a party setting), and know that booze is going to be present, just understand what the consequences are for all persons involved with that combo.
Understand the risks/consequences...
.."All guys should know that group sex at a party is not a good idea even if everyone's sober, but they may regret it if the woman involved is drunk..."
I have had this conversation with my husband at some length. At the risk of perhaps taking a slightly unpopular viewpoint, I personally feel that ALL parties, male and female, need to behave responsibly. And that would include staying sober, not drinking, most especially while underage and in a group setting.
Having said this, I am not excusing the behavior of these young men, but at the same time, a girl needs to understand her own responsibility re staying sober, or at the minimum, knowing when to stop drinking (when legal - shouldn't be happening at all if she's underage). Same goes for boys.
I'm sure most of us here (or at least some of us) can remember our carefree youth and some of the mistakes we've all probably made along the way. While