As a culmination of study of the French Culture, a small group of 17 and 18 year old students, accompanied by teachers and the school principal go to Paris on a school trip. On the last night, during a three hour dinner, each student was allowed to sip and taste a small amount of wine.

Back home, hell broke loose. The school principal lost his job, because the drinking age in the USA is 21. Later he was reinstated on probation after 2 weeks of complaints by parents. By the way, all parents had given written authorization for their children to drink small amounts of beer or wine during the trip.

Mike Rosen, a Columnist for the Denver Post, wrote: “If you have board members and managers with zero courage, zero judgment and zero common sense, you damn well better have a policy of zero tolerance. To do otherwise is to risk chaos.” Dwight Heath, a Brown University professor said: “That such a dinner is the best way for young people to learn drinking. It de-glamourizes, it demystifies - they are drinking in a responsible situation with adults, as an accompaniment to food.” Studies show that Luxembourg and France have the world’s highest per capita consumption of alcohol, but some of the lowest alcohol related problems.

Newsletter July 1998