It comes as no surprise to students or teachers that there are students who use drugs and alcohol. However, staff members were shocked to find it happening in the stands at our football games. During the home game on Sep. 23, a couple of students initially reported to staff that their peers were drunk or high.
“There was a feeling on the part of the administration that a lot of people were not sober in the Green Tide,” said Family Health teacher Kara Sears. “That was not a secret; it was obvious.”
With a dance planned for after the game, the staff had to decide how to proceed.
“The first question I answered was ‘should we cancel the dance?,’” said principal Danny Rock. “I said ‘no, we shouldn’t cancel the dance, because if we cancel the dance based on the concern of students being under the influence, then what have we just done? We’ve just sent all those people into cars and into more dangerous situations.”
According to standard procedure, there is always a police officer present at the games. Usually, they are not needed, but when law enforcement was necessary, it did not go as smoothly as hoped.
“He was really bad at the job that we were hiring him to do,” said Rock. “I found him to be super ineffective… I did interview a couple students [about] law enforcement and doing a sobriety check, and it frankly went really poorly.”
Students were surprised to discover breathalyzer tests being administered. This could be attributed to the fact that many students are used to using drugs and alcohol without getting caught.
“There was vodka being passed around in water bottles,” said another anonymous student who attended the game, “and lots of people were leaving during the game to smoke in the woods or were arriving high.”
Teachers have become more aware of this and plan on increasing restrictions at the upcoming games.
“There will no longer be in-and-out privileges for anybody,” said Sears.
Many students were concerned about bathroom access with this new rule and were upset to learn that they will need to use porta-potties closer to the field.
“Having bathrooms so far away from the event is an invitation for students to wander off and do something that they don’t want other people to see,” said Rock, who is taking charge of these new regulations.
In an effort to prevent students from bringing substances to the games in the first place, staff will be conducting bag checks. Some students don’t feel comfortable with this and are worried about trying to bring in food and drinks.
“They can feel a bag from the outside if they are suspicious, but they shouldn’t just snoop through everyone’s bags,” said an anonymous student.
Our principal reassures us that this regulation will be practiced loosely.
“We’re wanting you to think about the possibility that if you’re trying to smuggle in drugs and alcohol in your bag, we care about that,” said Rock. “If that’s the message you get, you’ll change your behavior whether we simply look your bag over or actually check the inside of it.”
However, with water bottles and soda cans being used to conceal alcohol, it is questionable whether or not this will provide a solution.
“It is pretty unfortunate for people who follow the rules, because we take the consequences of other people’s actions,” said another anonymous student.
Many students who have not participated in the use of drugs and alcohol are feeling the effects this has on them and wish that it didn’t have to go so far as to involve everyone.
“Just find out who they are and punish them,” said a third anonymous student.
Whether or not these new rules will work out will be seen, but staff and students alike are hoping for the best outcome.