West Springfield High School students talk about drugs, drinking, parties and pressure during a parent forum on Monday, April 27 in Springfield called “Saturday Night in the Suburbs.”
“It’s 11 o’clock. Do you know where your children are?” Parents of West Springfield junior Brittany Branch and senior Sadie Shroeder would know—there is an app on their phones that lets their parents know exactly where they are.
Times have changed since that public service announcement aired between primetime shows and the local news but there are issues that have remained the same for Springfield teens.
On Monday, April 27, nine West Springfield High School students—seniors Leena Abed, Daniel Wimmer, Schroeder, Londyn Gentry, Emily Reba, Shelby Peterson and Nujuma Moussa; and juniors Branch and Lynet—shared with about 20 parents what really goes on in the suburbs of Springfield. The parent forum, called “Saturday Night in the Suburbs,” was held in the high school’s Spartan Hall.
“Nobody forces you to drink but there are some that make it seem okay,” said Peterson. Jennifer Lewis-Cooper of the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County said that in 2013, 36.2 percent of twelfth graders have consumed alcohol in the last 30 days.
Abed said that drinking is viewed as not a big deal. “People don’t take it as a big deal to go drinking at your friend’s house,” she said.
Yet, most of the panel remember a classmate who drank too much and ended up having a bad reaction. The details of what happened varied in their recollection but the incident stayed with them. “It’s unfortunate how some things have to be personal for it to teach us,” said Peterson.
THE MESSAGE about not drinking and driving is as inculcated to the panel as it ever was. Gentry said that the dangers of drinking and driving have been drilled into them for the past four years and she wonders how anyone could take a chance with his life. She said that parents should adopt a “Call-me-first-and-we’ll-talk-about-it-in-the-morning” agreement with their children.
Branch said that yelling at their children immediately does not cultivate a good relationship of trust. “They’d have to think up a new lie” to get out of the situation, she said. “Don’t make your kids afraid of you,” added Abed.
The panel’s views on drug abuse were more ambivalent, especially about the use of marijuana and Adderall. Cooper said that 20.7 percent of students in Fairfax County have used marijuana in the last 30 days. The panel thought this was too low.
Though it is the “super potheads” that indulge in “wake and bake,” using marijuana upon waking up or in the morning, Peterson said that students see weed as “more casual…not an impairment to doing things.”
Abed said that there are students who get high but also get high marks in class. Gentry said that marijuana users among her peers are a wide variety. “There are people that you just never know” are taking marijuana. “You don’t have to be in the ‘pothead’ group to smoke,” added Wimmer.
The panel said that Adderall abuse is rampant, especially during big tests, AP exams, SATs and ACTs. “It’s the pressure…competitiveness. You cannot fail. You have to succeed, especially in Fairfax County,” said Gentry.
“If others take it and they’re doing better, should I be on it, too, just to catch up,” said Peterson of the mindset students have that Adderall is helping them concentrate and stay up later to study.
Maryann Zegeer, of Springfield, said that she knows the pressure students have in school and has attended school meetings talking about having a balance and not overloading the children to limit the pressure they are under. “I’m certainly going to be more thoughtful when I’m talking to my son about school.”
Ann Prentice, of Springfield, asked if the students know about the heart problems that might occur with the use of Adderall. Most were not aware of this potential side effect. Prentice said she was not surprised that students were sharing medications but she is surprised that they are not being educated about the effects of prescription drug abuse.
THE PANEL fielded questions from parents who attended, with questions ranging from curfews, parties and the how important it is that parents know the parents of their children’s friends.
Unified Prevention Coalition is nonprofit organization in Oakton working to prevent substance abuse by youth and young adults in Fairfax County.