Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Oct. 29, 1987, edition 1 / Page 4
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Opinion Page THE BRUNSU/ICK^BEACON l-.iliMird >1. Siicatt iiikI Cnrolvn II. SMrntt f’lihlishrr.s K.luanl M. Su. all Susa,, I shrr. f.V/,W luinii Adams a Iiou^ Hiittcr Stn/f irritvnt lol.nny Craij; Sporto Kdilar hr,St,,,,. Kail..,, offirv Vanapvr t ff. lia (,on- A Susnn Harofoul., tdvvrtisinfi tef)resvntiitivo.s I ammu* (>allmay Ct Dorothv Kronnan Tvnvnvitt>ra Holurl AVilliams Pressman Hn nda (Jrnimons Photo 'rechnician .onmr Sprinkir. tssistant Pressman » l>d»* and Mattir Moiil, Phmdie Clonimotui Circiilntion A Response By A Member Of The School Board Vuiiv l-.A Thursday. Ootober 29, 1987 Students Must Know Somebody Cores Your attention is directed to what may very well be one of the most unusual letters to the editor columns ever to appear on this page in the Beacon. The centerpiece at right is a touching letter written by a student at West Brunswick High School. It is surrounded by responses from three school of ficials. One thing that makes it unusual is that the name of the stu dent writer has been withheld. It is the first time this editor lias Violated tiie paper’s policy that requires the writer of any letter to be identified. Upon reading the letter, the reason for withholding this name should be obvious. It is also unusual to solicit responses to a letter for publishing at tlie same time the letter is printed. The reason for this approach, hopefully, will be obvious as one reads the letter and responses. 1 he purpose of printing the letter is not to issue a blanket indictment of the students, teachers and administration of West Brunswick High. Whatever the level of the drug activity is at West, it is no doubt on a par with other high schools in I^nmswick County, the state and the nation. As a newspaper, we couldn’t ignore the student’s letter, although, admittedly, we have no way of verifying any specifics it outlines. What was verifiable is the sincerity of the student and the likelihood that there are many students in the .school system who feel the same way. It is important to let this student and others know that this newspaper, school officials and the community care about the problem. That’s why responses were sought from tlie prin cipal, the superintendent and a member of the school board. Tliat is why these responses appear at the same time and in «'ii .’ciuic place as the letter. 1 (ic willingness of these three school officials to publicly rc.spond to this letter is appreciated. They have not only shown they care by responding, but their responses outline steps be ing taken to deal with the problems of drugs in the school. 1 ake the time to read not only the letter, but the responses to it. Perhaps you will conclude, as we have, that the schools are doing as well as the community at large in coping with the drug problem. It is not simply a problem of the schools. It is a problem of the community, of the county, the state and the nation. It is a problem for all of us, and we have to let our young people know we care—even if we don’t have all the answers. Hurry Back, Bill Bill F’aver’s popular column, which has been part of the Beacon editorial page for over a decade, will not appear for a time. Bill is taking a leave of absence to recover from major surgery. We know readers will join us wishing him a speedy, com plete recovery. While recovering, he and his wife Catherine are staying at their Holden Beach home. Going Down In A Blaze Of Glory DfM's il seem like everyone around iiiivs into a frenzy of activity just Ijcfore batlenini; down the liatches fnr tin- winter’.' 1 lie minute the leaves .start chang* ing r.ilors -when trees .start turning off till* old water .supply—people go » ra/\ It's a.s though we loo want one last blaze of glory. I.ike the trees, wc '* • iii to fear ,';ur n'.v.T ‘ v. aler supply” or Miurce of energy is going to dry up an> iimmle. Thai winter will actually tn e/c the juuf.s flowing through our l>0(|\ . Ill lhl^ rush of energy fed by cooler loiMpiTalures and lowered humidity, .tart holding yard sales and iiMiiings, enrolling in self- impiovement ela.sses, wiishing win- duus and building deek.s. You'd think we were never going to ba\ an opportunity to 'do” anything rvei again. I* l orn a di.slance we must look like so maiiv .scjuirrels .scrambling to gallin I'lumgh acorns to la.st the winter In.slead. perhaps we’re stor ing up the kinds of memories and ac- livllic.s needed to maintain .sinily 'hrough the dreary, overcast days of wintrr -Maybe our bixlies instinctive ly know wc won’t have enough lorig, or iiiolivation again to Susan Usher thoroughly clean the house or get ourselves organizcd-al lea.st not ’til spring returns our steady diet of sunlight. For some of us, that’s lilerully true. It’s been proven that there are people who must have a constant sup ply of sunlight in order to thrive. In winter we are more apt to tjecome physically sick or dcpre.ssed. or to operate at generally lower levels of performance than those less lied to a need for sun. Based on iny in.slineiive urging to hibernate so long as il’.s dark outside, I think I must fall in this sluggish wish-lhe-sun-would-come-oul-again group. Winter is blessedly short ar»und here, but still not short enough, at least for tho.se of us who depend on the sun for our energy supply. Dear West Bninswick Student; It may seem unusual to you to find responses to your letter to the editor in the same issue of Tlie Brunswick Beacon in which your letter initially appears. ’Hie editor was understan dably so concerned about your letter as to provide typed transcripts of it to the Principal, the Superintendent and the undersigned this past week in order, in the wonls of the editor, to give "an opportunity to make a writ ten response to the letter at the same time it is piibli.shcd." This response expresses iny views and not necessarily those of other School Board members and 1 have not been authorized nor am 1 attempting to respond on behalf t>f the entire School Board. I appreciate tliis o[)porlimity to communicate with you. First of all. you can be a.ssured that as a parent as well as a School Board inemlier. 1 share your concern about any illegal use. po.ssession or distribution of drugs including alcohol—Itself a powerful drug—at West Brunswick, or for that matter at an\ of mir .schools. Not only do such substances interfere with the main purpose of our schools—the education of young people—but it goes without .siiying that drugs and alcohol are devastating to family life, economic prcKluctivit^* cnrini orIer. However. I recognize that a general agreement on these points regarding drugs and alcohol is of lit tle value to yon iinle.ss somehow we can address your specific concerns. It is difficult to ropond objectively to your letter without some knowledge Oj ijiv taCtS Cr thc cVcHtS tO which you refer. I contacted the editor by telephone and expressed this concern to him. In response to my question as to whether or not any objective inve.stigation of the-se mat ters had been conducted. I was told that the editor’s primar>- concern is not investigative in nature but is twofold: First, that you as a student, believe that drugs are a problem of the magnitude that you suggest, and. secondly, that either you have the im pression that no one cares about the problem, or you have not been ade quately advised as to how to express your concerns to the proper persons. As l)oUef and opinion go hand in hand, reasonable people cun agree, disagree or simultaneously agree and disagree in part as to how to ap proach and find solutions to pro blems. In this vein, others respon ding to your letter will doubtless outline specific means being taken to address the drug Lssue in the com munity and the schools, and I will not, for the sjike of brevity, repeat this information. I would simply point out, and I think you will agree, that our schools do not exist in a vacuum and whatever social pro blems exist ai any given time will sooner or later surface in our schools. We need the help, guidance and assistance of the entire com munity—not just teachers and school administrators-but students, parents and all citizens in successful ly confronting and overcoming such problems. What we must guard against, however, is an overly impatient and exuberant approach in our response to such problems, including drugs. Perhaps, unwittingly, such ex uberance is contained in your letter. For example, you state in your letter. "Drug deals are done in the classrooms, right in front of teachers. I should know. I’ve seen it done too many times. How can this be allowed to go on?” TOs statement implies, indiscriminately, that most, if not all teachers at West Brunswick. are callously indifferent to the pro blem. consciously choose to ignore it, or that they wink and turn the other way. Such a statement is overly broad, does many fine teachers at West Brunswick a disser\'ice. and could be harmful to their reputations and characters. Another portion of your letter which bears clarification is in reference to the drug dog. We have a dedicated drug enforcement division in the Bninswick County Sheriffs Department which devotes many hours to drug education as well as to law enforcement in our community. The drug dog is s new and invaluable tool in detecting illegal drugs. The School Board has been contacted by the Sheriffs Department regarding the demonstration of this dog and its capabilities throughout the school system, and the possible use of the LETTER TO THE EDITOR Nobody Cares Where do you turn when there’s nowhere left to go? Everybody knows that drugs are a big and growing problem everywhere and, no matter how hard we try, we can't stop it nil. Hut school is a different story. It can be stopped. I used to think there were more students who didn’t do drugs than did, but now I’m beginning to wonder. It hurts me to see people ruin their life and people who can stop it Just turn their backs. I first noticed this problem my freshman year. I talked to what seemed to be a concerned teacher, she seemed to honestly listen to my cries about my friends and drugs. She told me the best way to help them was to turn their names into the office, so I did. I risked them finding out that I was the one that told on them for nothing, because you know what was done about it? Absolutely nothing, as far as I know, they weren’t even questioned. Any day of the week during lunch you can walk behind West Brunswick High School and get any kind of drug you want. Drug deals are done in the classrooms, right in front of teachere. I should know, I’ve seen it done too many times. How can this be allowed to go on? What I don’t understand is that the administration will throw you out of schcwl for smoking a cigarette in the bathroom, for fighiing, or even skipping school, but you can snort cocaine or smoke pot behind the school and nothing seems to be done. It’s like they’re saying, as long as you sUy out of our sight we don't care. Our school doesn’t need a bad name. How can anyone turn away and hide from this sad problem? What can I do if even the principal ig nores me? I thought I had nowhere else to go and then I remembered law en forcement. I confronted them and they simply said the administration had been asked if they would allow depuUes to bring a drug dog Into our school for a day, the response at that time was, “No.” Thai’s some kind of school. Hiding from a problem will solve nothing and until someone who cares about our future does something, it’s only going to get worse. We need your help. Somebody, somewhere has to be able to make a difference. I can’t do it alone and right now that’s how I feel. I have a great idea, instead of our Booster Oub feeding the football team or buying new uniforms, why not do something worthwhile—why not form a Students and Parents Against Drugs Association? Think about it, it makes sense. We need someone who’s willing to listen to us and take some sort of action to let us know you care. A Student At West Brunswick High dog in detecting illegal drug ac tivities. The Superintendent with the assistance and input from middle and high school principals is for mulating a proposal at this time to present to the school board and the board’s attorney for approval to establish, consistent with law, an ef fective and systematic policy regar ding use of the drug dog in all of our schools. This is an area in wich we must proceed with caution in order to simultaneously maximize effective use of the drug dog while at the same time complying with existing law and protecting against any civil liability to Brunswick County and its taxpay ing citizens. In response to your need to express your concerns to the proper persons, you are absolutely correct in stating that you "Can’t do it alone.” Everyone must "stick together" and help each other in confronting drug problems. I woidd suggest the follow ing procedure for any student at any of our schools in reporting drug viola tions or expressing concerns about drug use and abuse: 1. Contact the teacher closest to the problem; if you get no response, 2. Contact your principal or an assistant principal; if you get no response, 3. Contact the Superintendent; if you get no response, ■1. Contact any School Board Member; if you get no response, 5. Take the matter to the full School Board. In addition, you should do the following: 1. Comply with any procedure Input ting drug use, possession or distribu tion or your concerns regarding the same. 2. Inform your parents of your con cerns. They can help you and want to help you. 3. Depending on the nature of the problem it may be advisable to con tact the Sheriffs Department and make a report. Indeed, in certain cir cumstances it may be a violation of the law not to file a report if you have knowledge of the sale, possession or distribution of illegal drugs. Our law enforcement officials both need and deserve our assistance in performing their duties. In closing, rest assured that many people do care about the concerns you raise in your letter. Hopefully, together we can overcome and eradicate the poison of drugs in our community, and our schools are part of that community. Thank you for having the courage and conviction to come forward and express your concerns. Doug Baxley School Board Member Shallotte A Response By The Principal Of West Brunswick High To the editor; I want to thunk you for the oppor tunity to re.spumi to the Mudent from West who wrote you regarding drugs in our high school. Perhaps many high school students feel that "nobody cares” Ijecause they expect Instantaneous solutions to their valid complaints. In reality, however, ma jor problems such as this require considerable time, much effort and of course, many people working together before significant progress is made. Our concerned young people are just learning to adapt to this fact. That one of our students is concern ed enough about drugs at West to lake the lime and put out the effort to utilize the media to rectify an undesirable situation is highly com mendable. A worthwhile goal of any school sliouid be to produce active and caring citizens and il pleases me to see the fruits of our efforts. As the principal of West Brunswick and the parent of a student at West, I deeply care about this issue. I arn acutely aware that drugs arc more than just a school problem. Many members of our community recognize il as well. Administration began the 1986-87 school year by in forming all .students that anyone caught with illegal drugs in his or her possession would be transferred im mediately to the alternative school. Wc still adhere to that policy. Several weeks ago, I personally saw a student under the influence of drugs. One of the actions taken was to have a counselor establish group counseling for abusers. She has done that, but the students, when ap proached, denied that (s)he had a problem and refused any assistance. Within the last two weeks a con cerned student reported to me that she .saw drugs transferred in a classroom "in front of the teacher’s nose.” Realizing that perhaps teachers can't readily recognize various controlled substances, I in stigated plans through the counselors for an upcoming workshop regarding this issue. Another effort to deter this pro blem as well as others is the confin ing of students to the cafeteria and courtyard during both lunch periods. We have over 1,000 students supervis ed during this time by five or six adults. Admittedly some illicit ac tivities escape us, but we’re trying. Last year wc started SADD (Students Against Drunk Drivers), and many students assured me that all the drug and alcohol abusers were in it. To my knowledge we have no expressed interest in such a group this year. On Wednesday and Thursday, Oc tober 21 and 22, Don Gates and Gene Hardee from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department spoke about the effects of illegal drugs to more than 150 students at West. They emphasiz ed the potentially fatal and/or destructive consequences of cocaine, crack, LSD, crank, msrijusns and sundry inhalents. Two weeks ago I called the superintendent to check on the legali ty of bringing the drug dog to West during a school day. I’m awaiting ad visement However, the Sheriffs Department did bring the dog to our parking lot during the Homecoming game. Administration and faculty are in tensely concerned about the distribu tion and/or usage of drugs at West Brunswick High School. I often share this student’s feeling that “no one cares." Perhaps this student’s cry for help will touch the hearts of parents, too, so that we can all work together and strive for a drug-free high school... and conrununity. David R. Corley, Principal West Brunswick High School Shallotte A Response By The Interim Superintendent Of Schools To the editor: In response to concerns expressed to you by a student from West Brunswick High regarding the prevalence and u.se of dnigs in the .school by students and the apparent lack of concern about the problem on the part of teachers and administra tion. I wish to nuike the following .statement; I'he Hoard of Education, Ad ministrators. and teachers rno.st definitely dn care about the welfare of our .students. During the pa.st year a cornmitinenl was made to develop a Coinprchen.sive Drug Education Preventicm/Intervention I’rogram for all grades. K-12. This commit- meiil was based on a growing con cern on the part of the Administra tion that while Brunswick County Schools were not in a "crisis” situa tion, that we have the same kinds of problems with drugs that other .schools in the stale have and il Is lime to address thase needs. The .school system accepts the challenge of providing drug free schools for our children. We feel that this can be accomplished by such strategies as; Preventing drug experimenta tion through a drug education program for all .students in grades K-12; providing a system for intervention and Ircalmenl for students as well as post- treatment and follow-up care to provide support for the students who must go back and face the same peer pressure that got them into trouble in the beginn ing; Involving the parents and community in an attempt to sup port the school in their efforts. I am also picascil to announce that an Advisory Committee has just been formed comprised of concerned citizens and community leaders who too. care and are willing to assist the schools. A policy is forthcoming on the u.se of the drug dog in the .schools. As .soon a.s the legal a.spects on the use of the dog are resolved, the policy will be put in place by the .school board. As a word of encouragement to the concerned student, I wish to say that your school is taking the lead right now in asking for assistance to move forward with the above plan, as quickly as possible. I invite you to discuss your concerns with the prin cipal or counselor immediately. Also, I would welcome an opportunity to discuss any concerns that you or other students may have regarding this or any other problems you are experiencing. There is much that students can do, also I would welcome your suggestions. Dr. John A. Kaufhold. Interim Superintendent Brunswick County Schools Bolivia
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 29, 1987, edition 1
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