Youth Group, Distributors Reach Agreement In Beer FightGroup Protests After Distributors Rip Stickers Off Beer CasesPOSTED: 6:21 pm EDT August 18,
2008 DOVER, N.H. -- A group of teenagers reached a deal with beer distributors about warning labels on Monday after they had a run-in at local stores.The Dover group Youth 2 Youth has been putting stickers on beer cases for about eight years that warn parents that teenagers often get alcohol right from the refrigerator. But members of the group got into an altercation last week when they tried to place the stickers on beer while distributors were stocking the shelves."The Budweiser representatives were stocking their beer, putting in their shipment, and they started getting angry when they saw we were putting the stickers on," said Merrit McLaughlin of Youth 2 Youth. "So they decided to start ripping the stickers off."The group said it was only trying to raise awareness of a serious problem."The message that you're sending out there is that underage drinking is wrong, and parents need to be more aware that the No. 1 source of alcohol is from the fridge," said Emily Martuscello of Youth 2 Youth.The group received permission from local stores to place the stickers, so when the distributors interfered, the students fought back with a rally.The state beer distributors association previously stated that the local distributors may have acted improperly. And both sides came to the table on Monday to reach an agreement."We agreed that we both have very similar messages about underage drinking because it is against the law," said Stephen Ross of Youth 2 Youth.The distributors agreed that the stores owned beer and could allow the sticker project to continue. The organization said it won't allow their employees to stop the group in the future and will write a letter for students to show anyone who gives them a hard time.In turn, the group agreed to tell distributors when and where they were going to put up stickers, and the teenagers will also get the distributors' input on the look and message of the stickers.
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