We’re heading into prom and graduation season, a time when high school students want to celebrate. Some will want to toast the occasion with a beer or two. A drink isn’t that hard to come by when you have a fake ID or an older friend, brother or sister willing to buy you a case of beer, some wine or a bottle of whiskey.

Enter the Sticker Shock Lawrence program. The group of students is hoping to discourage those over age 21 from buying alcohol for teens. On Saturday, dozens of area high school students visited local liquor stores to spread their message by placing more than 1,000 stickers on cases of beer. The stickers warn customers not to buy alcohol for teens.

The Sticker Shock Lawrence program is assisted by community agencies and organized by the Lawrence Youth Coalition. DCCCA, local law enforcement, Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control staff and numerous area liquor stores also participated. The project was prompted by a 2010 survey of Lawrence youth that found 44 percent of area high school seniors had consumed alcohol in the past month, some of which was purchased for them by someone over the age of 21.

“It just seemed like a good cause,” said Free State High School senior Sam Corkins, as he was placing stickers on cases of Keystone Lite at the Cork & Barrel on West 23rd Street. “Being in high school, you know there’s a lot of this going on.”

Too much. Convincing people over 21 not to buy alcohol for younger friends and family members won’t make it impossible for them to get and drink alcohol, but it would make it significantly harder for them to do so.

The best thing about the Sticker Shock Lawrence is that it’s a youth-driven initiative. Let’s hope the students’ message resonates with its intended audience: adults.