— With beer bottles filled with apple juice and vodka bottles filled with 7UP, Muskogee High School students present a sobering look at teen “house parties” where alcohol flows.

Over and over again Thursday afternoon, students chugged fake beer through homemade “beer bongs,” guessed who could swig the most booze in a drinking game, had their beer bust busted by police and watched one of their own die from an overdose.

The repeated vignettes were part of a Reality Tour of a teen “house party,” sponsored by the MHS OKY2Y group, Muskogee Community Anti-Drug Network and Muskogee Parks and Recreation. The tours were held at Muskogee Teen Center. OKY2Y is an organization dedicated to helping teens withstand peer pressure to use alcohol or other drugs.

With the Teen Center’s house party ending in an overdose, the depiction was “a little over the top,” said sophomore Ashleigh Harrell. “It’s not like every party is going to be like this.”

Still, Muskogee teens say they see and hear about enough of these parties to be concerned.

MHS senior Ryan King said she sometimes has been invited to two parties a week, but has not gone.

“I learned it was stupid to go to a party like that,” Ryan said. She said people could lose trust if they go to these parties.

During one vignette, Ryan was challenged to chug vodka in a card game. Several scenes later, she was passed out on the couch, with Muskogee Police unable to revive her.

Muskogee Police Public Relations Officer Pedro Zardeneta, who took part in the vignettes, said he hopes the Reality Tour gives parents and others an idea of what can happen at a house party. He said he could not estimate how many house parties police bust.

“But every officer is going to encounter it periodically,” Zardeneta said.

MHS senior Ricky Arnel, who guided the tours, said such parties are getting more dangerous.

“Now kids are more reckless,” Arnel said. “Now it’s like kids are out to kill themselves.”

The tour also included a session on how booze can be disguised to look like a soft drink or canned whipped cream.

MHS prevention specialist Sheril Morgan said students have been rehearsing the vignettes since September.

Morgan said she hopes parents taking the tour could see the dangers of house parties.

“They think they’re keeping kids safe when alcohol is provided,” she said. “In all honesty, it’s better not to have alcohol at all.”

MHS sophomore Ashley Fletcher said she learned a lot by participating in the Reality Tour.

“I’m thankful my parents are so strict and don’t let me come to these parties,” Ashley said. “Even faking the beer makes me feel bad.”

Reach Cathy Spaulding at (918) 684-2928 or cspaulding@muskogee phoenix.com.