(Nov. 22, 2011) — “I’m positive a good 70% of Clark has drank alcohol,” said senior Tiko Aghamalyan. “Drinking is kind of a normal thing for teens.” According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, by age 18, more than 70% of teens have had at least one alcoholic drink. A recent Clark Chronicle poll of 50 juniors and seniors indicated that 45 of these students have consumed alcohol. Although most of these students claimed to only drink on occasion, they still consume large amounts of it. Thirty of the 45 students admitted to drinking more than ten shots of vodka at every party they attend. There are many reasons teenagers drink. “When they’re sober they can’t dance as well,” said Aghamalyan. “Drinking is very common in Armenian parties and without it most people are dancing noticeably bad.” While some teenagers use drinking as a reason to dance, others simply like the taste of beer. A student who wished to remain anonymous has a beer or two every week. “My personal favorite is Blue Moon,” he said. “I can easily tell the difference between beers.” As drinking seems to flourish among teenagers, the death rate also spirals up. According to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), teen alcohol use kills about 6000 people each year, more than all illegal drugs combined. Many students, however, seem unaffected by these statistics. “Although, I’ll never drive drunk,” said the anonymous student, “I still have the ability to control myself after a beer or two.” Health teacher Randy Tiffany says health teachers have a whole unit on alcohol that teaches freshmen about the emotional and physical effects of alcohol use. “We also show films about driving drunk,” he said. Despite this education, Tiffany says he knows some teens still drink and that they do so to their detriment. Students said they seemed to know their limits when it comes to drinking. Some even refuse to drink due to alcohol-related accidents. “I’ve seen too many alcohol-related deaths to ever drink,” Aghamalyan said. “I like to be in control of myself as much as possible.” According to MADD, there have been 5,700 underage DUI fatalities in the past five years. Although the DUI accident rate is fairly high, some parents are not concerned about how much their kids drink. “I’m Armenian,” said an anonymous student. “My parents don’t care if I drink.” As the statistics from MADD suggest, teen drinking leads to many car accidents. Aghamalyan believes that by reducing the amount of alcohol teens consume, the death rate will go down. “It is time to end underage drinking.”