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11-11-2005, 09:06 AM
Several Frederick County high school students said this week that a recent state survey analyzing their substance use isn’t really accurate.
In October, the state Department of Education released the results of the 2004 Maryland Adolescent Survey, a questionnaire given to students in sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grades requesting anonymous information on use of substances such as tobacco, alcohol and various drugs.
In Frederick County, while students in the lower grades were either at or below state averages for several substances, high school seniors were higher than state percentages in seven of nine categories, including binge drinking and use of marijuana and steroids.
At Middletown High School, officers in the Students Against Destructive Decisions club say that they don’t put much stock in the survey’s results.
‘‘Some people probably answered it honestly, but there are probably more that didn’t because their maturity level was not as high to take it seriously,” said junior Lindsey Kessler, who took the survey last year.
The same sentiment was evident among the officers of Gov. Thomas Johnson High School’s Students Helping Other People club.
‘‘I think some took it as a joke,” said junior Bianca Vitarello. ‘‘Maybe some didn’t answer seriously because they feared a teacher might recognize their handwriting and maybe others just thought it was a waste of time.”
As for the results, especially the use of marijuana, students had little problem believing that 24 percent of seniors reported using the drug in the last 30 days, a 5 percent increase from the test’s last distribution in 2002.
Students at both schools noted the ease in accessing marijuana, with some saying its use is becoming as common as alcohol.
Middletown High senior Emily Oppel said this increased use could even be seen in the classroom.
‘‘I think it is easier to get away with,” she said. ‘‘Some of the time, kids come to school high because they won’t get caught as opposed to coming to school drunk.”
Also popular among seniors and even sixth- and eighth-grade students, according to the survey, is the use of inhalants, such as gases, glues and aerosols. As compared to Frederick County students in 2002, use of inhalants rose as much as 4 percent among students in eighth grade and 2 percent among seniors in high school.
TJ High junior Bilguujin Dorjsuren said younger students may be finding this as a popular way to get high because they can’t access other drugs. Middletown High senior Lorraine Brantner said for older students, it’s an easy way to get high and is ‘‘a growing fad.”
Another popular fad, said Brantner, is ‘‘robo-tripping,” or the use of Robitussin taken in large doses to achieve a high. Others in the SADD club acknowledge that has become popular as the medicine is easy to purchase at any pharmacy.
With ease of access comes increased use, said students, including the most common substance used both in Frederick County and in the state: alcohol.
While students at both Middletown High and TJ High acknowledged that students drink, the frequency of binge drinking outlined in the survey did raise eyebrows. Among seniors taking the survey, 36 percent said they had five or more servings of alcohol in the same occasion in the last 30 days.
Leslie Bolen, a science teacher at TJ High and advisor for the SHOP club, admitted that while she doesn’t know a lot about what students do outside her classroom, she thinks that this particular survey response is inaccurate.
‘‘The binge drinking number is very fictitious,” she said. ‘‘I think it’s a case of being able to say ‘Oh yeah, I did that,’ but I think the percentage given is grossly off.”
For members of the SADD club at Middletown, perhaps the biggest oversight in the survey is that few are reading the other side of the statistics.
‘‘When you look at this, it tells you who does this stuff,” Kessler said. ‘‘It doesn’t show you who doesn’t do this. It doesn’t give credit to those who are making good decisions.”
Giving advice, not criticism
While not completely sold on the results of the survey, students at both schools are sure that peer-to-peer messages work to deter some destructive habits.
Middletown High has one of the only remaining SADD clubs in the county’s high schools.
Oppel said the group, nearly 40 strong, works to get out information about keeping other students safe in a number of situations, including use of drugs and alcohol.
‘‘It’s high school. ... We realize that people drink and do drugs, but I hope we can help them make smarter decisions, like finding a safe ride home,” she said.
Past events for the club include last year’s ‘‘grim reaper” day when students were chosen to ‘‘die” as a result of drunk driving, drug use and other substance-related incidents.
Brantner added that there will always be teenagers who ‘‘set out to get drunk or get high,” but hopefully, SADD’s message reaches some classmates.
‘‘Maybe if one person hears the message and it hits home, then that’s OK,” she said. ‘‘Even if we get one or two kids to make better choices that is still a good job. It’s better than none.”
At TJ High and at a number of other schools, SADD groups have turned into Students Helping Other People (SHOP) clubs in the last five years or so, blending prevention messages and community service. In addition to participating in the recent anti-drug Red Ribbon Week, the group also educates on the negative effects of tobacco each spring as part of the Great American Smoke-out.
TJ High junior Silpa Yalamanchili said that the goal is not to preach to fellow students, but instead give proper information and let them make their own decisions.
‘‘For me, I want to know the effects of what I’m doing and the whole story...not just the bad side to everything and then I can decide what’s right for me,” she said.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/111005/fred...232_31893.shtml (http://www.gazette.net/stories/111005/fredcou203232_31893.shtml)
In October, the state Department of Education released the results of the 2004 Maryland Adolescent Survey, a questionnaire given to students in sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grades requesting anonymous information on use of substances such as tobacco, alcohol and various drugs.
In Frederick County, while students in the lower grades were either at or below state averages for several substances, high school seniors were higher than state percentages in seven of nine categories, including binge drinking and use of marijuana and steroids.
At Middletown High School, officers in the Students Against Destructive Decisions club say that they don’t put much stock in the survey’s results.
‘‘Some people probably answered it honestly, but there are probably more that didn’t because their maturity level was not as high to take it seriously,” said junior Lindsey Kessler, who took the survey last year.
The same sentiment was evident among the officers of Gov. Thomas Johnson High School’s Students Helping Other People club.
‘‘I think some took it as a joke,” said junior Bianca Vitarello. ‘‘Maybe some didn’t answer seriously because they feared a teacher might recognize their handwriting and maybe others just thought it was a waste of time.”
As for the results, especially the use of marijuana, students had little problem believing that 24 percent of seniors reported using the drug in the last 30 days, a 5 percent increase from the test’s last distribution in 2002.
Students at both schools noted the ease in accessing marijuana, with some saying its use is becoming as common as alcohol.
Middletown High senior Emily Oppel said this increased use could even be seen in the classroom.
‘‘I think it is easier to get away with,” she said. ‘‘Some of the time, kids come to school high because they won’t get caught as opposed to coming to school drunk.”
Also popular among seniors and even sixth- and eighth-grade students, according to the survey, is the use of inhalants, such as gases, glues and aerosols. As compared to Frederick County students in 2002, use of inhalants rose as much as 4 percent among students in eighth grade and 2 percent among seniors in high school.
TJ High junior Bilguujin Dorjsuren said younger students may be finding this as a popular way to get high because they can’t access other drugs. Middletown High senior Lorraine Brantner said for older students, it’s an easy way to get high and is ‘‘a growing fad.”
Another popular fad, said Brantner, is ‘‘robo-tripping,” or the use of Robitussin taken in large doses to achieve a high. Others in the SADD club acknowledge that has become popular as the medicine is easy to purchase at any pharmacy.
With ease of access comes increased use, said students, including the most common substance used both in Frederick County and in the state: alcohol.
While students at both Middletown High and TJ High acknowledged that students drink, the frequency of binge drinking outlined in the survey did raise eyebrows. Among seniors taking the survey, 36 percent said they had five or more servings of alcohol in the same occasion in the last 30 days.
Leslie Bolen, a science teacher at TJ High and advisor for the SHOP club, admitted that while she doesn’t know a lot about what students do outside her classroom, she thinks that this particular survey response is inaccurate.
‘‘The binge drinking number is very fictitious,” she said. ‘‘I think it’s a case of being able to say ‘Oh yeah, I did that,’ but I think the percentage given is grossly off.”
For members of the SADD club at Middletown, perhaps the biggest oversight in the survey is that few are reading the other side of the statistics.
‘‘When you look at this, it tells you who does this stuff,” Kessler said. ‘‘It doesn’t show you who doesn’t do this. It doesn’t give credit to those who are making good decisions.”
Giving advice, not criticism
While not completely sold on the results of the survey, students at both schools are sure that peer-to-peer messages work to deter some destructive habits.
Middletown High has one of the only remaining SADD clubs in the county’s high schools.
Oppel said the group, nearly 40 strong, works to get out information about keeping other students safe in a number of situations, including use of drugs and alcohol.
‘‘It’s high school. ... We realize that people drink and do drugs, but I hope we can help them make smarter decisions, like finding a safe ride home,” she said.
Past events for the club include last year’s ‘‘grim reaper” day when students were chosen to ‘‘die” as a result of drunk driving, drug use and other substance-related incidents.
Brantner added that there will always be teenagers who ‘‘set out to get drunk or get high,” but hopefully, SADD’s message reaches some classmates.
‘‘Maybe if one person hears the message and it hits home, then that’s OK,” she said. ‘‘Even if we get one or two kids to make better choices that is still a good job. It’s better than none.”
At TJ High and at a number of other schools, SADD groups have turned into Students Helping Other People (SHOP) clubs in the last five years or so, blending prevention messages and community service. In addition to participating in the recent anti-drug Red Ribbon Week, the group also educates on the negative effects of tobacco each spring as part of the Great American Smoke-out.
TJ High junior Silpa Yalamanchili said that the goal is not to preach to fellow students, but instead give proper information and let them make their own decisions.
‘‘For me, I want to know the effects of what I’m doing and the whole story...not just the bad side to everything and then I can decide what’s right for me,” she said.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/111005/fred...232_31893.shtml (http://www.gazette.net/stories/111005/fredcou203232_31893.shtml)