300 students, parents warned of underage drinking dangers
A group of 300 students and parents filled the auditorium at McIntosh High School on Oct. 22 for the “Issues Facing Teens and Youth: Digging Deeper and Keeping it Real” town hall meeting which featured nationally syndicated television host Judge Glenda Hatchett. The event was a forum that highlighted the issues and outcomes facing teens today.
Hatchett in her delivery was highly animated, frequently using humor, hand gestures and facial expressions to drive home her point. Her remarks were designed to pull no punches with the audience.
“What I’ve seen over the years is young people dying,” Hatchett said at the outset of her remarks, citing an example of lives changed by drinking and driving, the charges of vehicular homicide and the guilt that can last a lifetime. “Kids drinking before age 15 are four times as likely to abuse alcohol as an adult and to be dependent on alcohol.”
Hatchett brought the issue home by using her own family and a family member who she said is a functional alcoholic. And she made it clear that her parents were in denial of what was occurring.
“How different his life might have been if we, his family, understood the addiction, understood the illness,” she said.
Referring to a previous skit by teens and adults on social hosting and teen drinking that preceded her comments, Hatchett asked emphatically, “What is the harm when a father says his kid is a good kid and agrees to let him party with alcohol? The answer is that it’s illegal. Let’s start there. It’s called contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”
Citing an example of the aftermath of a social hosting event at a residence, Hatchett referenced a case where a teen left the party drunk, crashed the vehicle and killed someone.
“Being the cool parent didn’t work,” Hatchett said. “And even if the parent didn’t get charged criminally, they’ll get charged civilly and (the victim’s family) will try to take everything you’ve got.”
Hatchett spoke of a time in her life when she wanted to go out with a boy over her mother’s objections. The young man was later killed in a drug-related incident.
“I was so naive,” Hatchett said of herself. “It was a life-lesson and it relates to this meeting. It was about honoring my parents’ decision in saying ‘no.’”
Kids have a responsibility to their parents, and parents have to listen with more than their ears, said Hatchett.
“There must be communication between parents and their kids,” she said. “You can’t just listen with your ears only. You have to listen with your eyes and with your heart.
“My challenge tonight is for you to have family meetings with everybody there. Rotate the agenda and include the kids when it’s their turn,” Hatchett said to parents. “It’s about closeness and understanding. And texting doesn’t fill the relationship.”
Hatchett’s attention then turned to the teens in the audience.
“Ask your parents what you can do for them,” Hatchett said. Her comments were met with an auditorium full of laughter. “Then the next question is, why not? It’s not (only) about the kids. It’s about everybody in the household.”
Hatchett then asked teens with a birthday in October to join her on-stage where she asked about their plans once they reached adulthood.
“There’s a dream out there with your name on it,” Hatchett said to the students as she turned to the audience. “Claim you dream for your life. You can’t kill somebody driving drunk and live that dream.”
The forum also included a skit dramatizing the factors and frustrations with issues such as social drinking with parental consent and a panel discussion on issues facing teens by psychotherapist Charles Popov, family law attorney Catherine Sanderson and a group of high school teens.
A graduate of Emory University School of Law, Judge Glenda Hatchett spent nearly 10 years as a senior attorney at Delta Air Lines. In 1990, Hatchett was appointed Chief Presiding Judge of the Fulton County Juvenile Court. She is a member of the Georgia Bar and has served on the board of three Fortune 500 companies: HCA, The Gap, and ServiceMaster Company.
She presided over a nationally syndicated television show, “Judge Hatchett,” for 12 seasons. She has authored two national best-selling books. In 2014, she launched The Hatchett Firm, a national law firm based in Atlanta and in April 2015 announced that she has signed to return to television with a new court show, “The Verdict with Judge Hatchett” that is set to air next fall.
The forum was sponsored by AVPride and the Fayette County School System.
