Gallery • 25 Photos

Photos by Tomas Castro.

This year, underage drinking at bRAVE escalated, with police citing 14 students. This leaves the prospect of next year’s event up in the air.

“The future of bRAVE is yet to be determined,” principal Alan Goodwin said in an email. “We need to step back from this event for a while and then brainstorm with the SGA about the future.”

After six students were caught drinking at bRAVE last year, there was an increased effort to prevent drinking this year through more security, a stricter check-in system and many appeals by Leadership students on Facebook. Goodwin even warned students during announcements at school and sent several emails to parents, imploring bRAVE-goers to make good decisions. Still, this year marks by far the highest number of students cited for being under the influence at the dance.

The 14 students, a mix of sophomores, juniors and seniors, were pulled into the main office and given citations by police. Some students were stopped as they entered bRAVE and some were pulled out of the dance throughout the night.

Each student will receive three days of in-school suspension, 10 hours of community service and limits on extracurricular activities, including being banned from participating in Talent Show and possibly Prom, as a consequence of the zero tolerance policy, Goodwin said. Penalties resulting from citations are determined by courts.

Goodwin faces a tough decision on how to respond to the growing number of students drinking at bRAVE.

“It’s hard because underage drinking at bRAVE is a huge problem and it’s really hard to control, but it’s also such a big fundraiser and such a big part of LLS month,” bRAVE committee chair Katie Meyer said.

Although the exact amount of money raised at bRAVE for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society isn’t yet finalized, it’s expected to be around $27,000, Leadership advisor Sheryl Freedman said. This reflects the enormous popularity of the event—nearly 1,000 students attended this year.

Despite the high number of citations, bRAVE was a success for a large majority of those who attended, Goodwin said.

“Overall, bRAVE went well for hundreds of students,” he said. “I’m very proud of students who made safe decisions.”