Under-Age Drinking Initiative

According to the Paso Del Norte Health Foundation’s Shift Positive, under-age drinking and binge drinking comes with high risks and consequences, including but not limited to- unplanned sexual activity, sexual assault, fights, unintentional and intentional injuries, and problems with school. In a 2015 survey of 9th graders in El Paso, 1 in 5 youth reported binge drinking (more than 5 drinks on one occasion) in the past month, and 1 in 20 reported extreme binge drinking (10 or more drinks on one occasion) in the past month. Almost 30% of the students reported drinking alcohol in the past month.

In February of 2000, 5 teenagers were on their way home after a night of partying in Juarez. They were less than 2 miles from the border when the driver of the car lost control and careened into a barricade. The car veered across the divided highway, and crashed into the apex of an ascending bridge. The car wedged under the ramp, killing all 5 of the teenagers. In response to this tragedy, EPPD’s Central Citizen’s Advisory Board (CAB) developed the “Stop Under-Age Drinking” Poster Contest.

The Central CAB in conjunction with BorderRac and the El Paso Police Department created the Under-Age Drinking Initiative (UADI) in order to educate youth on the consequences of under-age drinking. This annual poster contest gives our teenagers a platform to influence each other positively through their own prevention campaign. What started in Central El Paso has now grown to include all high schools in El Paso County and Southern New Mexico. 

In 2019, there were 242 poster entries, and independent artists from around the city chose the top 10 posters to receive awards sponsored by BorderRac. 

• 10^th Place: Andrea Burciaga of Gadsden HS                                          
• 9^th Place: Andrew Garduño of Bowie HS
• 8^th Place: Kimberly Avila of Gadsden HS
• 7^th Place: Nemesis Rodriguez of Riverside HS
• 6^th Place: Jose Perez of Gadsden HS
• 5^th Place: William Kloppenberg of Radford HS
• 4^th Place: Melody Tsutsumi of Silva Health Magnet/Jefferson
• 3^rd Place: Kayla Torres of Gadsden HS
• 2^nd Place: Corinne Johnson of Riverside HS
• 1^st Place: Max Moreno of Cathedral HS

EPPD has postponed the 2020 UADI poster contest until the Fall semester. Future dates to be determined. Any high school aged student is eligible and encouraged to submit a poster entry.

Deadline to submit poster entries: TBD

Award Ceremony: TBD

All prizes are sponsored by BorderRac. This year’s awards are:

• 1st Place: Apple iPad 10.2”, WI-FI, 32 GB
• 2nd Place: Nintendo Switch Lite
• 3rd Place: Set of Apple AirPods with Charging Case
• 4th-10th Place: Gift cards between $50-$75