about time I say, there should have always been a zero tolerance for this

I don't understand "The Reading Police have decided..." If it is a law it should always be done this way, not just when they wish to.

I can’t wait to see how this impacts the high school sporting teams/band/drama club. I hope that they follow through and these kids get banned from extracurricular activities.

You are on notice Reading High. Put your money where your mouth is! Follow through with the ban or kids will never learn.

sweep sweep sweep it under the rug...blah blah blah...this new administ at the high school told us about new policies with drinking and blah blah blah nothing done with this situation....same old same old....lot of talk....been in Reading 28 years and it is getting worse.....

Are these kids not being punished, suspended or banned from extracurricula activities? What????

FInally, a zero tolerance policy.......let's see what happens when parents are confronted with their children being charged with possession....maybe this will help them to take this problem a lot more seriously. my kids are grown and past this, and it's always been an issue, We've been here for 35 years, and Fanny is right, it is getting worse!

"Constructive possession" sounds like a stretch. Is that just being at a party where alcohol is served?

yes it is, so an athlete at RMHS can be completely sober and out with his friends at a party, but can be charged with constructive possession. This will result in the loss of a certain percentage of the athlete's sports season. One can only do so much in their favor. Do you expect every youth in Reading to sit in alone afraid of the world while they study their academics on a saturday night? Yes one must choose their friends wisely, but some of these groups of friends were established back in the beginning of middle school, way before any of these kids even knew that underaged drinking existed.

Zero tolerance is more destructive to the majority than the actual kids drinking. Especially when you include "constructive procession". It is hard enough to ask a kid to make the right choice and not drink and drive, how can we expect them to not be social? Parents take care of your children and let police handle actual problems.

Just to let everyone know just about every single kid at RMHS will be or has been at a party where something illegal is going on, good kids will stay away and do what they do, but the fact that those kids who don't anything illegal is just completely wrong. They are making the correct decision by not drinking and the school has yet to give equal punishment for the kids who don't play sports. I know according to all ignorant adults the football/hockey/ lacrosse players are the issue, but have any of you realized the issue stems from the kids who don't play sports.

I suggest any parent, administrator, or town employee supporting "constructive possession" to take a long, hard look at what you are advocating. We are now in support of consequence by grouping. We put a name, charge, and punishment on a member of our society, albeit a minor, strictly because of where they are seen, not because of what they are doing. Rather than be supportive of kids who are at a party and not drinking, we punish them for going to the party. Period. No exceptions, no constructive dialogue. Only "constructive possession".

If this policy is upheld it will do no good; in fact it will cause harm. If someone is in the same situation drinking or not, they why not drink? There is no extraneous downside, and there is no support for those who attend a party and choose to abstain from the use of alcohol.

What we have, in effect, created is a world where kids have two options: stay in, or risk ruining your future by following the law. This choice is despicable and must be stopped. Do not punish kids for choosing to not use drugs or alcohol. Deal with those proven guilty as you will, but focus on solving one problem. Do not cause another.

This is holding kids inside, not going out and being active with there friends, dont all parents want there kids to socialize with there friends? And kids want to go out as have fun, only some kids drink, there could be a straight A student at his first party and since some kids are drinking he gets in trouble, that's just stupid

This "constructive possession" rule is ridiculous. No punishment changes for the kids that actually drink. The only ones affected are the kids who are not drinking. What if there is a kid who only goes to the party because he wants to make sure his friends who are drinking are safe and give them a ride home so that they will not be driving or getting in a car with someone who has been drinking? Now a kid who is doing all the right things is subject to just as much punishment as the ones who are drinking. And anyone who says for the ones not drinking to just avoid going to a party is out of touch. Almost every teen in this town drinks and the ones that don't are friends with the ones that do and want to hangout with them anyways. This "constructive possession" rule gives kids one option stay home or be charged.

I agree there should be different punishments for those drinking and those not, but either way it is still illegal, just as it is illegal to be a party to any type of crime, as adults they will still be arrested and charged if their friends are stealing or worse, I would much rather have them learn that lesson now, while they can get past it then have them whine to a judge later "but I was just there" We should be teaching them to avoid bad situations, not just go along with the crowd. I really don't care for the argument " well most of them do it anyway" as it is our job as parents to keep them from doing it, if all their so called friends were cheating and/or bullying, would you advocate them sitting back and watching or stepping forward and doing the right thing?

It will happen. Eventually, all of you that think it will never happen to your child. They will drink. They will be under the age of 21 and more likely at some point during their HS career they will be caught (not all, but quite a few). With that being said, rightfully so, they should be punished. However, I could not agree more with Tully's comment. Should we lock our kids inside the house on a Friday night because there might be a slight chance they could end up at a house where there may be underage drinking? No question, that if you have a child in HS, they will be at a friends house at some point during the year where there will be alcohol. Yes, even those kids that you thought "would never drink" will try it. We can only hope as parents that they make good choices, and don't drink. But I would like to say, that believe it or not even the best of the best kids try drinking. And, yes...they are GREAT kids. You must know that...right??

Ms. Fortin, with all due respect your steadfast position is part of the issue here. Kids will not stay in, nor should they, and the percentage of kids breaking the law on a nightly basis would shock you. In fact, I would bet that in every circle of friends someone has used alcohol illegally. Its shockingly easy for a parent, or otherwise, to sit at a computer and say what kids should and should not do, and why. This issue is another thing in reality.
No one will be "whining" to a judge any more than you are "whining" here. If a kid breaks the law, fine, we have a strong legal system in place to combat this. But for a bystander, an innocent teen who is hanging out with friends and making the decision to be above the influence, there shall be no whining. As someone who does not drink, and yet still, perhaps miraculously, has a social life. I take great offense to the idea that one in my position is doing something wrong.
The key issue here is not to punish kids, not to ruin lives, and not to cause problems. The common goal with all of us should be to educate kids and prepare them for their next step in life. In encouraging kids to stay home, and not be a safe presence at a party as a sober attendee, we undermine this goal. In fact, I leave you with this question: what is worse an "underage drinking party" with 50 drunk kids, or one with 40 drunk kids and 10 sober ones?

sorry...meant to add that there are MANY kids that find themselves at parties where there's alcohol, but NOT ALL kids drink at these parties! Clearly a fact after this last incident.

Amen to that, kids should have a chance to learn and grow in high school. Once they hit 18, they are in the real world and they need to be able to make smart decisions on their own. Every adult here went to high school and I can guarantee all of you made some decisions you regret, but were you summoned to court no, you were taught a lesson by your parents or other adults and learned to not make that mistake again. We live in a time where the goal is to scare everyone from living and having some fun.

Could not agree more. Somewhere in our quest to rid society of bad we forgot how to do it. Teach kids the consequences of their actions, but do it in a way that doesn't leave a lasting mark on their record. Repeat offenders should be prosecuted, but to make an example of a high school aged kid to show what can happen, is wrong. Every kid in Reading can have a bright, prosperous future: wouldnt it be a shame if we ruined this in order to make an example?

Alcohol is being treated like heroin here. Kids in higschool are going to drink, no matter what the law is, its going to happen. This whole thing is getting blown out of proportion.

It's about time the police did their job in this town and start punishing kids who are under age drinking.

Perhaps some of my comments have been misunderstood. I am in no way advocating locking kids in on weekend nights so they can't socialize. I am advocating teaching them that when there is illegal activities going on, to find someplace else to hang out with their friends where drinking is not going on. I, as a parent tried to teach my kids to walk away when something they should not be doing was going on. Did it always work, no perhaps not, but the lesson is still sound and I would still stand behind it. I will say to the comment
"the percentage of kids breaking the law on a nightly basis would shock you" is not valid, I do realize the percentage of kids breaking the law on a nightly basis and believe they should be held accountable for it, perhaps then the percentage would go down. As well, if there was offence taken "As someone who does not drink, and yet still, perhaps miraculously, has a social life. I take great offense to the idea that one in my position is doing something wrong." it was not intended. If you are an adult, you aren't doing anything wrong to be in a room with age appropriate drinkers, if you are a minor staying in a situation where others are breaking the law, I do believe there is something inherently wrong with that. You can have a non-drinking social life, people do it every day and only by encouraging minors to explore nondrinking social options will we ever come close to ridding our youth of underage drinking.

Guess what Ms. Fortin, kids are going to drink. Period. No matter what you say or do and despite all of the crazy punishments you all come up with, it's still going to happen. Why? Because part of the reason that kids these days drink is because it is against the law. "OMG" right? No matter what you say or do, kids will still drink because it is like the forbidden fruit. It is human nature to want what we can't have, so no matter what you say or do kids will still drink. How do I know this? I'm a high school student. I know more about kids my age than you ever will simply because I am one. I share the same struggles and conflicts as them, and I know that no matter what kids will still drink and there's nothing you or i or the administration can do about it. So with that said, punishing the kids that end up at a party and actively make the decision to stay sober, sometimes for the sake of not having their extracurricular activities taken away is ludicrous. While I do understand your point that in an ideal world no student would end up at a party where there is underage drinking, this is simply not the reality. Any kid with an active social life WILL at some point during high school end up at a party with alcohol, and it simply does NOT make sense to punish these kids the same as if they were drunk.

The Reading police have made a huge mistake. If you believe this new policy will help cut back on underage drinking, you have made a huge mistake. As a student at RMHS, I can tell you right now that there's always going to be parties involving alcohol. When I heard of this policy I was uphalled. 

To begin with defining guilty as associated with is beyond absurd. Kids are taught in school that they will face alcohol in their lives, and are taught simply to refuse. Now what do we teach? If you see a minor with alcohol run or you'll be charged? The logic here is flawed but to me it's beside the point. The fact of the matter is that now, the good kids get punished. At every party there's always sober kids there to make sure everyone days safe, always. But by inacting this policy you now punish the sober kids, because they've made the same bad decision as the drunk kid next to them. Tell me, would you be mad at your son if he went to a party to pick up his drunk friend that needed a way home? I doubt it. Would you be mad if your son went to pick a friend up and he ended up with a court date? Not only that, but this policy will eliminate the safety net. Kids now have no reason to stay sober at parties because regardless they get punished. I guarantee the number of DUI's will increase in Reading if this lasts. Your opinion is yours to make, but Ask yourselves first, do you want to punish the good kids? My answer is no. 

This has now turned into a discussion about the constructive possession rather than the zero tolerance policy, and I believe zero tolerance for underage drinking should be the focus here. I do feel as though I am being personally attacked for believing that we should not just sit back and let the status quo continue, but to encourage kids to embrace legal activities and to choose friends that embrace legal activities as well. I am bowing out of this discussion as it does no good to repeat myself if the comments are going to be misunderstood anyway.

Let's see what punishment for the kids is handed down with regards to suspensions from school sports, etc.....then we'll know just how serious this new administration is about their promises last spring. My bet is business as usual, slap on the wrist and no dessert after supper.

Ms Fortin, never was this an attack on you, that would be a waste of time. We have simply stated our opinions, some of which contradict yours. The issue I have, with your comments as well as several others, is this idealist belief that kids won't drink and all good kids will stay away. While this is a great hope it is nothing but a figment of imagination; certainly nothing we can or should base public policy off.
In fact, public policy must be based off reality, not off a distant hope of idealism. When we all grasp this concept we can finally begin to work cohesively to solve our problems; students, parents, faculty, administration, and police alike. The idea that only bad kids drink, that good ones will always stay away, and that if your friends drink you must find new ones is disgusting. John Doherty clearly believes this, wrongly, and so does the RPD.
All here are good intentioned, some more then others, and some have purely political motives. The day that we all speak together and discuss this is the day Reading turns the page on the last 35 years of problems.

I realized that I always encourage the discussion and would be a hypocrite if I did not allow myself to continue in the conversation because of being uncomfortable with the wording of some of the posts. I need to realize that some of them are posted by High school students that cannot learn civil discussion without seeing it. Correct me if I am wrong, but we are not talking about 18 year old adults here, we are talking about High School kids, most of which are under the age of 18. They are minors, giving them a legal consequence that will be erased when they turn 18 is in no way "ruining" their lives, but giving them a taste of what will happen as an adult if they break the law. I am a little rusty of the "new driver" rules as I haven't had a new driver in several years, but I believe these are also kids that are not supposed to be driving without a "seasoned driver" in the car anyway? Please don't use the sad excuse of "everyone does it" Laws are there for a reason, if you don't like them, follow the process and change them, don't just disregard them. Please also note that nowhere in any of my posts did I agree wholeheartedly with the constructive possesion portion of this, I do believe there should be different punishments for those doing and those just sitting back and observing, just as there are with "higher level" laws.

Vicki you state "They are minors, giving them a legal consequence that will be erased when they turn 18" you actually are wrong to some degree. As far as logging these kids in the police log they are considered "minors" and their names legally cannot be posted in the log. As far as the charges go, whatever they might be, once you turn 17 you are legally apposed to be charged as an adult. Therefore the charges will not be erased when they turn 18. I state this due to the fact that i'm sure few if not many of these kids were 17 at this party.

Reading Police... nothing better to do in town but drive around and sending minors to jail

If you are at a party and alcohol is present and you are not drinking you should not be charged. Alcohol is always at parties now and kids aren't just gonna sit home and watch tv because alcohol is at the party they want to go to. If anything they should be breathalyzed before they are given a charge. Its the same thing as if kids were doing drugs at a party. Should a kid not doing the drugs but is at the party get in trouble? No. People like Vicki Fortin and other adults need to find something better to do then comment on the reading patch about how underage kids need to be punished. Maybe your child got in trouble because you were too busy posting on the reading patch about getting kids in trouble instead of paying attention to where your child was going.

All this policy does is create more paperwork (aka more money out of your wallet) for officers who would much rather write parking tickets.They should be more concerned with what goes on at the Venetian Moon than on Fairchild

Dont you realize that this new "zero tolerance policy" is not for the good kids, not for the bad kids, or even you Vicki, the Reading Police Department feels the need to abuse the rights of minors. The Reading Police Department does not care about the safety of this town or the people in it. They care about meeting their quotas, and exceeding other surrounding towns numbers. They do this especially on minors because most minors don't know how to exercise their rights as citizens of this country, rather then just this town. It is truely sad to see that this town is being overrun by law enforcement. If you look one town over, say North Reading for example youll see that the amount of tickets handed out by the RPD not only double but triple the amount in difference of neighboring towns such as North Reading. Do you often times hear about crimes in North Reading? No, do they have a strict policy against substance abuse? Yes. However it is within civil boundries. Making it possible for kids to continue their lives using Diversion plans. The Reading Police Department have been always messing with minors for as long as i Know i not only here about this through word of mouth but i witness it first hand. Because the RPD is a privately funded organization it feels like they can take advantage of minors. For example when a kid says i dont consent to a search that means legally they are not to be searched unless their is viable presentable probable cause within plain sight.

I also add that this town is not safe with the likes of Officers like Sean Wilson, this man has been single handily messing with specifically minors. However take this back a few years and youll find the same man begging for his job back because HE got drunk and fired his weapon joking around. The fact that an officer on a bike is the biggest fear of the minors in this town is a joke. When was the last drunk driving accident in Reading that you heard about? A women aged 52. 52! not 14-20.. 52 much like most of these condescending parents on here. I imagine the majority of you have kids that are going through the Reading Public School program if they already havn't and you will be kicking yourself when you have to buy a nice button down suit, kackis, and a tie, or a nice dress for your son/daughter who was at a party and got charged with "constructive possesion" Iv been one town over In NR and gotten constructive possession and was told to just go home. Here i would get a summons in the mail maybe 6 months after the charge was actually summonsed. the fact of the matter is that all of these kids are going to end up scrubbing the walls of the YMCA, All of these town sub-laws are just driving our town into a democratic civilization where were all the law enforcements bitch. Whats next? "oh we dont need warrants to enter houses anymore, well just knock the door down, and say we smelt fresh weed" The whole system is corrupt we cant fix the problem without first fixing the system

please refocus, the RPD is not going to be out trolling for parties any more or less than they were before this policy went into effect. Enforcing a law that has been on the books already is not the RPD abusing the rights of minors but doing their jobs. As well if a minors rights have been violated they and their parents should be taking it up with the RPD, but that is not the focus of this article or discussion is it?

Just to reiterate what a lot of other people on here have said, this policy will not help the perceived "problem" in Reading. This constructive possession, in addition to the new chemical policy adopted this past spring, if anything make the town more dangerous to teens. If there is a kid at a party with alcohol poisoning, no one will call for help for fear of persecution for doing the right thing. Every friend group in the high school drinks. No matter what group or activity you choose to associate yourself with, there will be at least one or two kids who use alcohol. Nothing the school system or RPD implements will stop this. It is far better to allow kids to learn from their own mistakes, than potentially ruin their future. And to those kids who choose to remain sober in order to keep things under control or drive their friends home, there should be absolutely no penalty. Since when is it illegal to help out a friend?

What's a party without alcohol?

In my four years at RMHS I am aware of drugs and or alcohol in all of the following places: “underage drinking parties”, sports events (away more than home) countless cars, and several times in this school,even in Honors level and AP classes. Now the point of this is not to shed negative light on Reading as a town but rather to clue in people who think they know what they’re talking about. Until they have lived it, in present day, they do not. We simply can't avoid it. For this reason we must not punish those who choose to not partake, and it certainly is a conscious decision not to.
As for your point about being a minor, there are several fallacies to debunk here, so bear with me. First, do not suggest I need to learn civil discussion. I know this is easy to say behind the safety of a computer, but it makes you look like exactly what young adults take issue with: condescending adults. Second, I happen to be 18 years old, but in this case a criminal record is not first issue. The real problem, the one kids worry about, is suspension from school, sports, or loss of captaincy and other leadership positions. This is something that factors into college applications, the single largest worry of a high school students young life. The thought of a student, athlete or otherwise, in a leadership position, abstaining from drinking, keeping others safer, carrying his leadership position out to its fullest extent; and being punished irreparably for it, is sickening.

It is entirely actually, this is just another stepping stone for the police to have more reason to abuse rights. When you get in trouble your first thoughts are, what are the reprecussions, it takes a skillfully minded individual to evade the prosecutions of the RPD. What im saying is that the fact that you say "no i do not consent to a search" like our law classes in Reading High have told us to say when in a constraint with the police, they find those words in their own minds as probable cause and if you get in their way while they go to search you no matter what it is a simple lunge to your car to declare your stance in the matter, they will detain you, take your keys and unlock your car illegally im sure if we had a lawyers standpoint in this thread we would see the actual amount of wrong-doing the police do. Yes, however it does usually seem that they clean the streets but there are more reoccuring problems then just alcohol abuse. They are finding needles nearby parks where your kids are going. The fact that you think that alcohol is such a harmful drug makes me think that maybe you have family relations with alcoholics but i can assure you high school drinking is not even close to alcoholism. This town has some of the highest grades in the state and that wasnt attributed to lack of drinking it was attributed to actual education. Have you not noticed the amount of kids that left Reading high and pursued careers/further education all these kids have drank or been around

we are getting away fhe point....these arrests included kids that have gotten away with the drinking already this year...what about the punishment this time...sweep sweep sweep....under the rug,..get off soap boxes and deal with this thing last weekend---the school adminis has told us all this propagandsa and now this happens and nothing is done. we have to be knuckleheads to fall for this again and again. same names pop up in the drinking list time and time again. my daughter graduates in 2 years and tells me this is the worst junior & senior class of "glug glugs" ever !!

actually its very legal, it may not be practical but underage alcohol consumption is allowed in private living sectors under guardian supervision(first family)

What many of you are forgetting, particularly Ms Fortin, is that we now have a policy that could end up with a kid who arrives at a party sees that there is alcohol and tries to leave just as the Police arrive and ends up getting "busted". I have taught my child to leave a party where she notices alcohol is present but what happens if the police arrive while I am driving to pick her up? What happens if one kid has a water bottle full of alcohol but the other kids are unaware, Should those kids also be found guilty?

My problem has nothing to do with the subject matter of this article - either the policies work and people get offended, or the policies don't work and people get offended. My problem is with comments like this: "I need to realize that some of them are posted by High school students that cannot learn civil discussion without seeing it."

Great! If you want to discuss a matter civilly, DO NOT MAKE GENERALIZATIONS! That's the problem with this law - it casts huge nets over groups of teens who don't deserve to be in them. But I digress... My problem with this dialogue is that it pits teens against adults, when clearly we need to be working together. So kids, stop validating your agressive opinions with the fact that you're in high school! I'm in high school, too, and my social life does not involve substance use! And adults, stop validating your agressive opinions with your pretentious comments!!

So let me get this straight if i attend the Reading football game tonight if one person has a some sort of alcohol everybody who is in that enclosed area, under the age of 21, will be arrested? Does this also include the players on the field? Please let me know so I can make my decision whether to go or not.

These debates could go on forever. The fact is, the opinions that the citizens in Reading and the RPD have recently obtained on where the youths stand in this town as far as abusing alcohol and drugs is blown way out of proportion. Adults that state their opinions on this patch about the current state of RMHS are typically far from precise. Kids will always experiment with alcohol and it is there job to regulate this lifestyle and steer themselves down the right path with help of their parents. If the citizens of reading believe there is huge problem with drugs at the high school then you are wrong. Why can I state this because I recently graduated from RMHS and these concerned parents most likely haven't been in high school in 10+ years. That means you are most likely basing you consensus on this topic on articles posted on the Reading Patch and other rumors that circle around this town that typically get blown out of proportion. Im in no way saying its okay for minors to underage drink but this is a reality. Just know that other nearby communities are faced with the troubles of heroin crack meth coke as daily issues at local high schools. Also note that these troubles are not present in our local high school in any way and we should be lucky to have that.

It's a shame that kids cannot handle themselves anymore... This never happened with my class... (or should i say to this extent)

My son graduated from RMHS in 1998, when the school was know for having a heroin problem. The people commenting under the delusion that the kids these days are somehow worse than they were in the past clearly have their heads in the sand. Every grade is different, and every grade has it's trouble makers, some worse than others. Don't blame the entire generation for a few bad eggs.

this law is absolutely rediculous. let's be real, there will be alcohol at every single high school party I can promise you that. why should one party ruin everyone's last years of high school? alcohol and parties are a part of high school. people can hang out with friends and not do illegal things but it's fun for everyone to go to parties. I can bet you that everyone did the same if not worse when they were our age and in high school. we should all be able to go to parties and not have to keep worrying about when or if the cops are going to show up knowing well be prosecuted whether we're drunk or sober.

snoop dog!

As a lawyer I am seriously offended by the "guilt by association" nature of this law, not to mention the fact that it reaks of Guilty until proven innocent, I plan on filing a formal complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General (where I used to work) about this clearly unconstitutional law. Anyone who wants to join me is welcome. If we accept this and continue to act like lemmings we deserve to be treated like lemmings!

Ok, So now sober kids will not want to be at parties where drinking is involved. I am a student at reading and I know there are parties that happen that involve alcohol. So with no sober kids at parties, how will drunk kids get home? call parents? no, won't happen. drive home? ahhh maybe. High school students will think they are sober enough to drive themselves home(even though they are not). Usually there is a sober friend that watches over them to make sure that they don't do this but now that is less likely to happen. Now the students safety is at risk.

The MIAA has rules for student athletes and for several years student athletes present where underage drinking was occurring were all punished whether on not they were drinking. Its not up to the school or the town. Some of these kids are very young and it is a real danger for them to drink. Why not encourage the kids who don't drink to prevail upon the others to do likewise instead of throwing your hands up and saying it's unavoidable. RMHS has had a history of some serious drug use among student athletes. For how many of them do you think their first drug exposure was a high school drinking party? Even if you only succeed in delaying the alcohol use for a small number of kids it is worthwhile.

From a friend without a Patch account: "A debate can't happen if people are using fake usernames and identities. If people really feel this passionately about a debate of this, they should have a town council meeting and open the floor for anyone who wants to make a statement."

Agreed. I think Reading should have a community dialogue event.

the real issue with underage drinking and any drinking in general is safety. people are losing sight of why drinking is bad in the first place and that is the fact that it is dangerous. a beer or two will do no harm but binge drinking is unsafe and drinking and driving endangers not only those who engage in it but the entire community. i agree that to completely eliminate underage drinking is completely unrealistic and impossible...in fact i believe that the drinking age of 21, most of the way through college and long after the age to vote or go to war is ridiculous. but to the point, while it is very important to encourage children to abstain from drinking, it is more important to keep them safe. the police should think about a system in which kids can call a number if they or a friend need help without feeling guilty, scared, or risking their captainship or ability to participate in school activities. charging kids for merely being at a party where there is drinking does no good...if there is nobody sober at the party to drive home, the policy is all but encouraging drinking and driving. a more productive policy for the police to implement would be to provide safe rides home for kids who are intoxicated so that they don't endanger the rest of reading by trying to sneak home. this service could also be useful for adults in town...of course they should face some consequence, maybe notify the parents and community service which would be far more productive.

As a college student, and as an adult, I think that as long as the consumption of alcohol by people over 21 is widely accepted in our culture, there will forever be a number of people under said age who will drink in order to feel more mature. There will also be those who drink simply because, hey, alcohol is fun. It makes boring situations feel much more exciting, and in a town where kids often resort to hanging out at the turf fields at night, the temptation seems all too great. While in high school, I found that the majority of nights involved driving around in an attempt to find a place to go. I know Vicki Fortin mentioned that kids in Reading should simply "find another place to go", but trust me, that is simply not as easy as you think. Those who do not drink will rarely offer to have people over, because inevitably it will become a situation where 38 drunk minors arrive at the only party going on in their grade. So where do the all the kids go? To the one house that happens to have people there. And at that house there will be sober kids and drunk kids alike, simply attempting to socialize in a town where the only option is the single party going on that particular Friday night. By getting the sober kids in the same trouble as the kid who is belligerently drunk, it encourages kids to either avoid the only gathering in town or to go to that gathering and drink anyway, because at least they'll be buzzed when they're arrested. Also goodbye designated drivers, hello DUI's.

if you want to fly you have to give up what weighs you down

This new policy implemented further takes away the rights of our young people and is just trying to control them. Have you ever heard the expression "The preachers kid is always the wildest". Well think about it. I'm simply trying to say that more stringent laws and policies is not the way to fix this issue. Giving more power to the police is not the answer (especially when some are hypocrites themselves see article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/01/officers_charged_in_firing_of_gun/?page=full)

If you are truly worried about your son or daughter TALK TO THEM make sure they do not drink and drive, not drink too much, and if God forbid they ever need help or a friend who needs help they are not too afraid to ask. A good policy to put in place would be the Good Samaritan policy to help kids who don't know what to do with someone who has drank too much. Finally for everyone who THINKS these kids all violated the MIAA policy you are sadly mistaken. If you look at the MIAA handbook which is an administrators guide for interpreting and enforcing rule #62 the chemical health rule you will see clearly stated that "This MIAA statewide minimum standard is not intended to render “guilt by association”, e.g. many student athletes might be present at a party where only a
few violate this standard." That sounds a lot like the opposite of rendering everyone guilty by association.

Why should one be punished for taking the initiative too with hold from drinking at a party. Of course kids in High School are going to drink, its the easy thing to do. But the children who do in fact go to parties without drinking alcohol are the stronger ones. The idea that they should be punished is not right and clearly does not make sense because all it is doing is encouraging to either do what everyone else is doing because you'll get in trouble either way. Or too stay home every time there is a party because of the "Constructive Possession" that Reading plans to take action with.

Even if your kids are not drinking at a future party (that will happen) tell them to RUN!! Run, run, run. So sad that it's a a fact that parents actually do tell their kids to do so. At least they got a 50/50 shot of not being caught by the police that will have them appear in court for not having alcohol on them and for not drinking. Pathetic. So pathetic.

Let me be clear. I do not condone underage drinking, but when the choice my daughter will be faced with is waiting for me to pick her up at a party where drinking is taking place (and potentially being caught up in this nonsense) or walk down the street at night alone what kind of choice is that?

YOLO

I agree with everything StullyJR has said and I only have one thing to add. What will happen with designated drivers? If every highschooler who abstains from underage drinking decides to stay away from parties with alcohol, then that leaves us with drunk kids on the road endangering themselves and the rest of the community. Does a teenager need to lose their life for us to understand that protecting kids - drunk or not - is more important than sending a zero tolerance message. For what it is worth kids will never comply with zero tolerance. This policy is ludicrous and it needs to go NOW.

clearly everyone has strong feelings about this policy and most aren't good ones.. at all. so maybe that's a sign that it should either change or just go away completely. no ones accomplishing anything besides getting innocent and 'guilty' kids in trouble. this isn't going to change whether people drink or not, everyone is still going to.

For 30 years highschool students in Reading have been underage drinking so how come all of a sudden the police feel the need to try and catch kids more than ever? and the answer to that is not because more kids are getting caught with alchol because if the police were this strict back then there would be the same result we see today. With this new policy they are asking kids to not go out and socialize because of the fear of being charged with "constuctive possesion." No matter what kind of kid you are, if you go to someones house there WILL BE alchol period and you have no choice if it is there or not. That kid also has the choice to leave but that means he or she has to spend one of their two only free nights of the week at home. This new rule is absolutely rediculous.

Dean

to add to comment made earlier. Say a kid is caught drinking in school, whos fault is it then. The kid that is drinking or everyone in his class. Everyone in the school? or should the faculty even be charged for allowing that kid to drink. Just think about how idiotic this new rule is.

well, it seems like this issue is not longer being discussed but it is being misunderstood and bashed and the juvenile mentality has taken over. Everyone has a right to express their opinion and be accountable for the results, those who are name calling and being vulgar should grow up a little if you expect your opinions to be taken seriously

Comments have been removed from this article due to personal attacks and profanity. Again, please be civil when commenting on this site.

If everyone runs, only the fat kids will get caught !

Sorry, but am I missing something?? I was a kid once; I like them always tested the boundaries. I also knew right from wrong and for every action, there are consequences. I am sure when the invitations went out to those who attended; they were not enticed under the guise that a "Mega Yahtzee Marathon" was going to take place. Our youths need to know that bad things happen to good people, many times just by association. But with that being said, some were only guilty of bad judgment. If anyone at the party was not under influence or in possession of alcohol, in my opinion is just again guilty of bad judgment. I am sure that many will say that this is impossible to prove, or enforce. That is why we are all innocent until proven guilty, and becomes a burden of the legal system. This problem might need to be addressed, but this is a very poor way of dealing with it, what are the limits to perusing the issue using this avenue. I amazed that where the alcohol was obtained has not be addressed. Adults/Home Owners should be put on notice that certain possessions have inherited Liabilities/Responsibilities. OK since now the legal system has made it known that even though they did not pursue it in the past, but they are going to now. I also believe since that most if not all parents have dealt some form of punishment, the point has been made. Might want to give these alleged offenders some form of amnesty. But going forward let be known that the legal bar has been raised.

How sad this is to read, there are problems in every town with alcohol and drugs.I wonder how the families who have lost their children either by accidents, murder, and overdozing feel about this policy. I remember everyone screaming for the town,police,and schools to do something. Where were they? When meetings were held on how to handle these situations. Underage drinking has been going on since the beginning of time. Maybe some of these parents need to look within their own homes. School is for learning not babysitting, Police are hired to protect and uphold the law. Parents are to be responsible for their children. They need to think about their drinking and behavior. If you have it available they are going to sneek it cause they think it's a way of life, seeing their parents drinking in many cases everynight. How many parents keep track of the alcohol in their houses? Get serious! We live in a screwed up society pointing fingers at everyone but themselves. Ask the police how many calls they get on under the influence, domestic issues because someone is drunk...hate to say it but it all starts at home. I wonder where were the neighbors? I know if I saw a bunch of kids coming and going I'd call police. . It comes down to zero tolerance It was voted in by the town and school. Maybe it needs some tweaking. Offenders must pay for breaking the law . Underage drinking is breaking the law. Life is a learning lesson. If they have to lose a position on a sports or , so be it.

Okay, the bottom line is the RPD dept is enforcing a zero tolerance policy, which is long overdue. How many of us know police officers who have pulled over a car full of teens, and realized alcohol was in water bottles. What good did the RPD do for the well being of the teens by asking them to dump it out and let them go on their way.This is the norm more times than not and don't you think teens are going to push the envelope if the law is not going to be enforced? Well it is about time the law is enforced and the sanctions are given to underage drinkers, in addition to the person who is hosting the party. If the law is going to enforce "constructive possesion" what other social settings does Reading offer for the teens who want to hang out with there friends and make good choices. The discussion of a teen center has been entertained for decades but charging incocent teens who want to socialize outside of their home should not be punished .

I am all for sanctions being enforced and for zero tolerance-and hope the RPD start walking the walk and not just talking it, FOR THE WELL BEING OF OUR KIDS WHO ARE DRINKING , AND TO OPEN THE EYES OF THEIR PARENTS.

If you dont want us to drink, give us something else to do.

I agree with the attorney (DW). This whole guilt by association thing sounds entirely wrong. I would certainly join with you in this effort.

After speaking with an officer at a cub scout pack meeting this past weekend, the kids who blew a 0 were not arrested. The sheer volume of alcohol made arresting all who refused a breath test a necessity.

He also said that the Patch has not printed the full release from RPD. He told me that anyone who blows a 0 will NOT be arrested so we can end the freak out about "constructive possession"

I'm assuming the shooting death this weekend of yet another young Reading man is drug related?

Nikki- If you are referring to the Lawrence shooting, the man shot was once a Reading resident, but does not live here now, according to police. They do not have any details on the case.

Ashley, yes, I heard that it happened in Lawrence. Thank you for the info.

I agree with Jed Clampett. All you underage drinkers should always have 3 or more big boned kids with you. That way you will always get away when the occifers show up.

Comments have been removed from this article due to profanity and inappropriate user names.

Alcohol,, The TRUE gateway drug,, But hey, we need the tax revenue.

I would rather find my kid's smoking marijuana rather than drinking booze.

That stu CAN and WILL kill you.

That stuff CAN and WILL kill you.

First round is on me at Grumpy Doyle's tonight

I guess none of you people ever drank when you were young eh? This stuff has been happening every where, with every sing generation. Including all of you people that comment on this page. Your lying with your self if you never did this in your youth. If really didn't... then to bad for you. Please get a life and worry about things that you should really be worried about!!!

Reading parents are jsut way too protective p their kids so when they get in to the real world and get into real trouble when mommy and daddy can't save them, they're the ones that end up in jail. It's been proven in Reading before.