by Tasoula Burk

Some students have set curfews and rules about drinking, and have to text their parents. about their whereabouts Others do not. Both ends of the spectrum appear in Brookline.

Junior Debbie Lieberman’s mother does not set a curfew for her.

“She just trusts me to be safe and to make good decisions,” Lieberman said. “With her, it’s like ‘freedom with responsibility.’”

Some students said their parents do not mind where they go or what they do, simply because their parents feel the students know their expectations and will not disappoint them. Sometimes, however, these expectations are not obvious, according to Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention worker Mary Minott.

“I think parents feel that they give really clear messages to their kids, like they don’t want the kids drinking or smoking pot, but they only say that once freshman year,” Minott said. “By the time the kid is a junior, they think that it is okay to do that. Parents, often times, assume that kids know what their values are, but they don’t really elaborate on them.”

While some parents may have lax rules regarding curfew or drinking, other students said their parents have already made strong impressions on them by discouraging drinking.

“The talks I’ve had with my parents about drugs and alcohol definitely make an impact, and I know I wouldn’t do that anyway,” freshman Elena Usui said.

Senior Oshun Bannis said that being raised in a religious family caused him to learn about the negative outcomes that can arise from drinking, especially at a young age.

“I’m not rebellious when it comes to my parents,” Bannis said. “I saw personally what can happen to someone who has a drinking problem, and I know that I would never want to put myself in that kind of situation.”

Some students expressed similar viewpoints to that of Bannis. Others said their parents would not mind if they consumed alcohol in front of them, but would mind if they drank behind their backs.

According to the Alcohol Policy Information System, minors in Massachusetts are prohibited from possessing alcohol except when they are allowed by the minor’s parents.

“They let me drink in front of them, probably because they know that with them, I’m not going to do anything stupid,” senior Alan Peralta said. “If they were to catch me drinking with friends at a party, they would freak out. They would be super angry at me. I don’t even know what they would do. That’s why I just don’t do it.”

Freshman Ian Roberson said that establishing a good relationship with parents is key.

“I think that if I wasn’t good friends with my parents or had good relationships with them, then they wouldn’t trust me as much to let me go out and do things that I want to do,” Roberson said.

Tasoula Burk can be contacted at [email protected].