Inklings march 2016

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Crown Point High School @InklingsCPHS March 24. 2016 Vol. 80 Issue 7

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hours for a single drink to leave the body.

Underage intoxication causes more than legal consequences BY JACKIE HAM NATALIE BRIGHAM

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/ publications/Underage-

feature editor editor-in-chief

Drinking/UnderageFact.htm

In 2011

188,000

people under

age 21 visited emergency rooms for

alcohol-related injuries.

More than

1/5

of youth begin

drinking before the age of 13. https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11facts-about-teens-and-alcohol

35%

of teens have had at least one drink.

65%

By age 18 of teens have had at least one drink. http://toosmarttostart.samhsa.gov/teens/ facts/myths.aspx

Read about the boys’ basketball team’s run to the Elite Eight on page 12.

WASTED potential

It takes

By age 15

S

It all starts with one drink. The intoxicating properties are capable of consuming thoughts and leaving one with high blood pressure and an intense aroma lingering on his or her tongue. It is well known that alcohol impairs normal brain functions causing simple activities to turn treacherous within seconds. A night of celebration and laughter can come with consequences all stemming from the alcohol consumed earlier that evening. While it has been cited that alcohol consumption in teens has gone down, schools in the area have had issues in recent years. Lake Central had an incidence at one of their proms where several students came to the dance under the influence of alcohol. They were all seniors, and all were expelled from school. Because they were seniors, they all had to attend summer school due to the credits they lost from their spring semester. Assistant Principal Robert McDermott was employed at Lake Central during the prom incident and was associated with the enforcement of the current breath test system. This inculdes testing the breath of students entering the dance to ensure they are not under the influence of alcohol. The decision was made in 2008 and since that time, no one has been caught inebriated at any of LC’s school dances. The breath test allowed administration to manage students’ behavior while entering and exiting the dance.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NATALIE BRIGHAM

“We knew as a school we had no control of what happened after the dance. But we knew we wanted students to arrive to our location not being under the influence and leave our location not being under the influence, and we were able to accomplish that,” McDermott said. While LC has implemented such procedures to control the intake of alcohol before school dances, Crown Point High School has no mandatory ruling regarding breathalyzing during school sanctioned events. If a student shows signs of intoxication in any particular situation, officers present at the time have portable breath tests and are allowed to test anyone they believe may be under the influence. Testing positive for alcohol consumption while attending any school wide event will result in con-

sequences handled by administration. The punishments may vary, but being intoxicated anywhere at a CPHS event is a violation of the school’s code of conduct. “Whether it’s at Valparaiso High School or the Halls of St. George for prom, they are all extensions of Crown Point High School, so in that case, the student code of conduct is in effect,” McDermott said. “Whatever would happen there, and (since) drugs and alcohol are zero tolerance, they would be suspended and possibly recommended for an expulsion from school.” While alcohol consumption for minors may lead to academic repercussions and legal trouble, it is known to cause physical harm. Alcohol hinders many simple bodily functions and operations. Michelle Nizam has worked as an emergency

room nurse for 22 years and has witnessed the issues alcohol presents in teens. Nizam recounted numerous occasions in which teen drinking impacted her life in the ER. One account that she remembers vividly was a drunken teenage boy and his intoxicated friends taking a limo on prom night where the teenage boy attempted to surf on top of the limo. The limo was going 40 mph, and the teenage boy fell off and endured severe head injuries resulting in the loss of his life. The image of his parents mourning the loss of their son is etched in her brain forever. Nizam sees about 1,200 cases a year regarding alcohol issues relating to teens. Every year around prom season and spring break, numbers of cases brought into the ER tend to go up. See alcohol on page 3

*Names of students have been changed for this story.

Feature

News They came, saw and conquered Latin club wins state convention for 12 years in a row page

2

A&E

Destination “the Region” Staying home for spring break doesn’t have to be boring page

10

Coding for the crown Freshman Daniyaal Rasheed wins Google coding competition page

16


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