(Host) A group of roughly 50 high school students urged lawmakers on Tuesday to support their plans to reduce underage drinking in Vermont. The students are delegates to a four-day Youth Summit being held in Montpelier.
The delegates endorsed three major priorities at their summit. They want the Legislature to tax all alcohol advertisements in the state to help finance a counter advertising media campaign. Erica Dodge, who is a delegate from Hyde Park, says the counter ads are needed because alcohol advertising has an enormous impact on young people:
(Dodge) “Right now our funds are very limited for counter advertising in the state of Vermont. And I think whatever we can really do to get more funds for that and kind of send under age drinking off the track, do whatever we can do. And these recommendations really do point that out for us.”
(Host) The students also proposed that all schools teach a media literacy education class and they want all money collected from alcohol violations to be placed in a special fund for alcohol education, prevention and enforcement programs.