MARKET WATCH COLUMNIST
“Does social-host law curb teen drinking?”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, September 25, 2011
It would be better if teenagers never drank alcohol. Most adults agree.
Drinking is illegal, for one thing. It isn’t always easy to moderate. And this part is undeniable: Kids sometimes do reckless things — to themselves and to others — when the alcohol takes control.
Yes, it would be better if teenagers didn’t drink at all.
But they do, many of them and often. Saying that isn’t the same as endorsing it. It is, however, the truth.
In April, about 30 teenagers came to a party at the Dix Hills home of the Gelb family. Robert and Lorri Gelb served no
adult beverages to the high-school crowd, but some young guests apparently brought their own. Later that night, one girl, walking along the North State Parkway with alcohol in her system, was struck by a car and killed.
On Thursday, the Gelbs were charged under Suffolk County’s social-host law, which holds adults responsible not just for serving young people at home but also for not taking steps to stop their drinking.
It’s a stern step on a serious issue. But will it actually reduce teenage drinking. Will it actually save lives? Will it make kids drink less or not at all? Or will prosecutions like this one simply push teenage drinking out of the basements and o
ff the patios and into the parks, bars and cars? Won’t that just encourage unsupervised drinking, away from adults’ even semi-watchful eyes?
All those questions are being discussed at kitchen tables across Long Island this weekend. They were vigorously discussed in high-school classrooms and cafeterias on Friday.
Only one thing was clear as the week came to a close: Anyone who thinks these are easy issues hasn’t thought about them enough.
BETTER SAFE
1. Don’t drink alcohol.
2. Don’t drive fast.
3. Don’t copy your term papers from Wikipedia.
4. Don’t run with the wrong crowd.
5. But if you do, please be careful.
ASKED AND UNANSWERED:
Which would be less creepy? One killer — or many killers — dumping human remains around Gilgo Beach? Neither scenario’s exactly comforting…If Nassau and Suffolk are merged into a single county (Nasfolk? Suffau?), which of the 
current execs seems ready to handle MORE responsibility? Okay, but what if “none of the above” isn’t on the ballot?…Did you know mulch piles can catch on fire? Firefighters in Yaphank now have irrefutable proof… Goering Street in Brookhaven? Goose-stepping in Yaphank? Swastika flags over Camp Siegfried? After the chilling Nazis-in-our-backyard exhibit at Suffolk Community College, can anyone ever say again: “Hitler had no fans on Long
Island”?…If the Warren Buffett Rule says “millionaires and billionaires must pay their share,” what does the Jimmy Buffett Rule say? That folks who own really large sailboats and shelter their wealth on island’s with swaying palm trees should never be asked to do ANYTHING?….Does Mary Occhino, star of last year’s Syfy psychic show “Mary Knows Best,” already know how Theresa Caputo’s TLC psychic show, “Long Island Medium,” will do in the ratings on Sunday? LI psychic throw-down, anyone?…Do the supervisors at Toys R Us realize it’s still September? So why are they already hiring extra holiday help?…
LONG ISLANDER OF THE WEEK
BILL O’REILLY
Around here, we take our good ideas wherever we find them. Even from Long Island native Bill O’Reilly, beloved son 
of Levittown, irascible star of Fox News, dedicated Newsday reader. “You know what you should do in your Sunday column?” he suggested one day. “Long Islander of the Week. That way, you’ll always have something nice in there, no matter how snarky the rest of it is.” Finally, something Bill and I could instantly agree on! Here’s something else: His new book,
“Killing Lincoln,” is fast-paced, novelistic, grippingly human and a really quite good. It’s history with the boring left out. Who knew that O’Reilly, now ensconced in leafy Manhasset and already a pretty busy guy, would add “Lincoln biography” to his resume? Now if he can just convince the current crop of presidential candidates be a bit more Lincolnesque!
E-mail ellis@henican.com.
Follow him at twitter.com/henican
Related posts
I learned about top shelf booze at home. What drink goes in which glass. My parents told me how much, my disease told me different. Focus on food and activities for parties, not alcoholic beverages. When you serve a lot of alcohol, you better have a lot of beds! Shine on.
Ellis you are bringing up an issue of massive importance but undeniably very difficult to solve until circumstances force the issue.It is virtually impossible to physically stop a 15 year old from going out on a summer night. Threaten a time out in their room and that will be a nightmare.Sure all kids are going to drink or get high but if parents drum it in to stop after one, it might work.Going legal in a heavier way on minors who commit lessor misdemeanors will not change kids getting their records sealed and they will be classified as juvenile offenders. Neither the criminal justice system nor community leaders want to be excessive in punishment for a minor offense. I would advise parents that serious crimes are not to be placed in this scenario. As far as parents being responsible, a hefty civil suit is pretty bad and yes in that case you are responsible to settle for your kids.