Mock-House Parties Show Parents a Harsh Reality

By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Parents across the state got a reality check on the dangerous and sometime deadly consequences of house parties that mix teenagers with alcohol.

Across Oklahoma, mock-house parties mimicked what really happens when teenagers are allowed to party at a house filled with alcohol. The parties often involve binge drinking, prescription pill popping, physical altercations and sexual assaults.

"Those kids didn't get the alcohol on their own. They probably got it from their parents," said Hiawatha Bouldin, Oklahoma Area Prevention Centers.

Oklahoma Area Prevention Centers invited parents and community leaders to get an up-close look at these kind of parties that take place every weekend.

"I may be my age, but that was my first. I was appalled at what I saw," said Frances Percival, parent.

What Percival and the others saw Wednesday were the consequences of what some adults consider a rite of passage for their kids.

In 2008, studies revealed 66 percent of all high school seniors in Oklahoma were able to obtain alcohol from someone over the age of 21. As a result, teens suffer from alcohol poisoning, they're injured, sexually assaulted, or in some cases the outcome is deadly.

"This can happen to any young adult," Bouldin said.

The Prevention Center hopes that these mock-parties will push city leaders to enact more social host ordinances in Oklahoma. Currently 78 cities in the state have a law that punishes people who allow these kinds of parties.

Organizers of Wednesday's parties said they plan to do these mock-parties in different communities.