COCOLAMUS - East Juniata High School welcomed students from various schools across the state to its annual Christmas basketball tournament this week. However, the tournament was not the day's only event geared toward teenage students at the school.
Sponsored by the Juniata County Probation Department and T.E.A.M. DUI, the Brain Show took place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the school's auditorium, just down the hall from the gymnasium.
The Brain Show, presented by Magic Touch Entertainment, is a trivia show geared toward middle and high school students in which contestants are chosen from the show's crowd. Designed to model a television game show, each contestant or team of contestants responds to a variety of questions, much like the TV game show Jeopardy.
Despite the amusement the show provided to teenagers and adults alike, the sponsors' mission for the event was set up outside the doors of the auditorium.
In the foyer of the auditorium, the Juniata County Probation Department offered pamphlets and information on underage drinking and driving under the influence.
"The Brain Show is a fantastic setup for kids and adults. Our goal in the event is to address the problem of underage drinking," Aaron Diehl, a county probation officer, explained.
More importantly, the department also conducted a survey on underage drinking at the event.
"Juniata County and area counties have a serious problem that goes somewhat ignored. Our survey hopes to shed light on the problem of underage drinking," Diehl said.
As 2008 comes to a close, Diehl and T.E.A.M. DUI hope that the Brain Show is only the beginning of future efforts to expose underage drinking.
"We hope to use our funds in new and creative ways to deal with the problem of underage drinking in the future," Diehl said.
