This year’s Sober Grad Night will not be a place for graduates
to sober up.
In a move meant to take teenage drinking more seriously,
officials with San Benito High School and the Sober Grad Night
Committee are changing things around.
This year’s Sober Grad Night will not be a place for graduates to sober up.
In a move meant to take teenage drinking more seriously, officials with San Benito High School and the Sober Grad Night Committee are changing things around.
The biggest change is holding the June 11 event in Mattson Gym on campus as opposed to the Elks’ Lodge out by the airport.
“Students already have a mindset of what’s appropriate and not appropriate (at school),” said Superintendent Jean Burns Slater.
The committee also looked at the Veterans Building, but cost was a factor as well as the being-at-school mindset. Holding the event on campus also allows for some enclosed, outdoor activities on the tennis courts.
“This should have happened a long time ago,” committee member Kim Schranz said about the changes. “We need to set the standard.”
Sober Grad Night, held from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. the night students graduate from SBHS, is meant to control accidents related to drinking alcohol and drug use many teens participate in to celebrate high school graduation.
About 250 to 300 graduates attend the event.
In the past, the event has been referred to as “Sober Up Grad Night,” because many students show up drunk and are still allowed in. Accepting intoxicated teens sent the wrong message, Schranz said.
Some businesses that donate time or money to the event have expressed hesitation and disdain in continuing to support Sober Grad Night.
“An individual business owner did express their disappointment in how the event went last year,” Slater said. “What we really have to do is get over this hurdle. The community is very dedicated to making this different (this year).”
Also, school officials are looking for support from the community in light of the recent auto accident that killed two SBHS graduates and involved drinking and driving.
“We want to make it real clear to the students that this is not going to be business as usual,” Slater said.
If any graduates arrive drunk, they will be put into a “waiting room” where people on their emergency contact card will be called to pick them up. If no one shows up, law enforcement will be called to escort the teens home.
At no point will the intoxicated graduates be allowed into the party.
But, some argue allowing students to come to the event to sober up is important.
Mohammad Huwieh is a 2003 graduate who attended his Sober Grad Night in June.
“I thought the whole point was to get people off the street,” Huwieh said. “There’s going to be a lot more (car) accidents (with these changes).”
In addition to changing the location and admittance policy, the Sober Grad Night Committee will be sending out solicitation letters to local businesses asking them to sponsor an event within Sober Grad Night.
The group could sponsor or chaperone activities – a way for the community to get more involved, Slater said.
Also, seniors will be surveyed for their input on food, activities and staff members they would like to see at the event.
The committee, which meets twice a month, was working on improving the event before the Dec. 6 auto accident, Schranz said.
“Suddenly, we do have a little more support,” she said. “There’s been a lot of negativity with Sober Grad Night because of years past. We have some fresh ideas and hope we will gain some support.”
Even with the tragic accident, though, some students will be right back to drinking, Huwieh said.
“People will forget about it, as tragic as it was,” he said. “People are already forgetting about it. It’s sad.”
The Sober Grad Night Committee’s next meeting is Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at Las Palmas Restaurant. SBHS’ graduation is Friday, June 11.
