the the
Dial
The Thevoice voiceofofthe thestudent studentbody body Hackley School, Tarrytown, NY 10591
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Gun violence spurs Fortnite fever sweeps campus dialogue through student body
April 30, 2018 hsdial.org
Administration and students wrestle with recent Juul trend The Dial investigates the surge in popularity of discreet, dangerous Juul devices in the adolescent community
By Lei Anne Rabeje and Emmy Wenstrup
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t calms you down or makes you think it does,” said an anonymous Hackley student on Juuling. Juul, the most popular brand of e-cigarettes, launched in 2015 with a mission “to eliminate cigarettes by offering existing adult smokers with a true alternative to combustible cigarettes.” Although New York State law prohibits anyone under 18– under 21 in New York City– from purchasing e-cigarettes, devices like Juul continue to be widely-used at social gatherings and on school grounds. There’s a secret cue for some students, a signal to congregate in the bathrooms to take a hit during class or their free periods. Students take hits to last them until their next free period or the next cue. For some it’s an enjoyable habit, but for others Juuling has become a real problem, perpetuated by addiction or peer pressure. Though this problem has only surfaced recently, the Dial spoke to several Hackley students, preferring to remain anonymous to avoid repercussion, who either admitted to trying Juul once or to using it on a regular basis. Although the Dial was unable to obtain precise numbers regarding the extent of the problem, our research and interviews gave us the impression that a significant number of Hackley students have at least tried Juul. An anonymous student cited stress from school work and college prep, as well as their anxiety as some of the main reasons for “juuling”. In addition to the relief, juuling “gives a short term buzz. It doesn’t have an effect that hangs around like cigarettes or marijuana. It passes quickly and allows you to continue with your day,” said the student. Unlike cigarettes, Juul and other e-cigarettes don’t require combustion of chemicals or tobacco, which can lead to lung cancer. While the long-term effects of vaping e-liquids are still unknown, researchers worry more about user
dependence on nicotine as each Juul students as both a teacher and a dean, pod contains as much nicotine as a pack junior dean Melissa Stanek admitted of cigarettes. However, some studies that she did not learn about Juul until have concluded that the vapors from last spring during the girls lacrosse trip. e-cigarettes, but not specifically Juul, “This is fairly new, and it’s definitely new contain toxic substances such as lead for us. I remember my first awareness of and other metals. Clearly, more studies this horrible phenomenon was last spring. need to be conducted before there can I was on the lacrosse trip and I saw someone be any certainty about the safety of Juul. on the street vaping, so I started asking But regardless of whether it is true or some of the girls,” said Ms. Stanek. “I was not, many students believe juuling is safer getting my information from them… I than smoking: “A quick Google search think for us it’s new but we’re very well will tell you [Juuling is] nowhere near[ly] aware on how pervasive it’s become.” as harmful as smoking that involves The device is compact and resembles a actual combustion,” another anonymous thumb-drive, making it easy for students student said. “Even though they haven’t to carry without adults recognizing or been around long enough to do reliable noticing it in a classroom setting. Ms. studies on long-term effects, the general Stanek hopes to educate more students feeling kids have about and adults about them is pretty casual. Juul, and vaping in Although personally According I started using it daily general. I’ve never owned or to her, a crucial step spent money on one, and I noticed at prac- is to teach adults to if I’m out with friends the device tice that my lungs were recognize I’d be much more in the first place. comfortable with a getting tired more “Some of them Juul than cigarettes, l o o k l i k e i Po d s , w h i c h , m a y b e quickly and I ran out of some look like USBs, ironically, I abhor.” breath quite easily. you can have them Nonetheless, Juul plugged them into Anonymous Student your computer while pods’ high nicotine content calls for some you’re in class. So health repercussions. raising awareness According to Livescience, nicotine can amongst the adults is crucial so that potentially worsen heart diseases in they can communicate to the students persons with severe heart conditions. their own concerns and recognize it Studies have also shown that e-cigarette when they see it,” said Ms. Stanek. users have more respiratory problems, an Some high schools are taking a more issue one student already experienced. active approach to prevent juuling. “When I used to Juul every once in a According to Kate Zernicki’s article while I never noticed any side effects,” on The New York Times, some high said the student. “Then I started using schools are assigning teachers to regulate it daily and I noticed at practice that my bathrooms, even going as far as closing lungs were getting tired more quickly all but two bathrooms at the school. and I ran out of breath quite easily.” New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL Despite the fact that juuling is quickly is looking to install vapor detectors in the gaining popularity on the Hackley bathrooms, which would alert authorities campus, Juul’s relatively recent release of any changes in the air quality. means some adults have not heard of this Sophomore dean Chris Loomis doesn’t new phenomenon.Working closely with foresee these changes happening on
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campus, and sees the health concerns connected to vaping as more important than disciplinary consequences. “To be candid about it, the disciplinary response is less of a concern for us than the health and wellbeing of a student,” said Mr. Loomis. “This is a major health concern that’s on our radar. Busting the kids is never the object, it’s trying to make sure they’re making healthy decisions.” Both deans emphasized that “in any situation involving drugs or alcohol-and in this case, these new things- if you have concern for yourself or for your friend, you can come to really anyone and express that concern and there will be no disciplinary consequences associated,” said Ms. Stanek. Students who are caught juuling, or vaping, on campus may go before the Board of Magistrates, or simply the administration. According to the Upper School Handbook, “Students are prohibited from smoking or using smokeless tobacco on School grounds... including e-cigarettes.” W h i l e t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s a r e n’t specified, repercussions in past cases have involved Saturday detentions and conducting personal research on vaping. In terms of the health curriculum, teacher Cassandra Sekkas introduced a video aimed at educating students about the physical consequences of vaping. The video included information about common tobacco products including hookah and some misconceptions regarding e-cigarettes, but no information about Juul products. Sophomore student Taylor Robin does not believe the video was effective: “I think people are just going to continue doing what they do.” In the future, Ms. Sekkas believes that the best way to educate students about vaping is peer-to-peer: “I believe we could use peer advisory as a place to have more discussions regarding this as well as community times and possibly advisory.” In addition, she believes that vaping education should begin in Middle School. Illustration courtesty of Ariana Swei