She was fifteen, ready to party, and got so drunk she passed out.

When she finally woke up she knew something was terribly wrong.

Her vagina was throbbing with pain. Looking down, she was horrified to see pen drawings on her abdomen with arrows pointing downward.

The next school day, there was a hushed group looking at pictures on someone’s phone.  From the smirks and furtive looks, she knew they were pictures of her.

She called her mother to come and get her.

Then she hung herself.

She had known her rapists since junior high; they were classmates.  How could they do such a dehumanizing, degrading thing?

Simple answer: They were drunk.

Alcohol abuse and the devastating mayhem caused by alcohol are at epidemic levels in our colleges, high schools, and even in our middle schools. Our only hope to stem this destructive tide is to educate our young people before they experience tragedy, and to make alcohol less available by:

• taxing it
• restricting how it is sold
• restricting where it is sold.

In the next few months, I will offer suggestions as to how we can all help at our local level.  Stay tuned.