SADD members and school administrators put a warning label on homecoming, cautioning teens to act responsibly.
By JANET ZINK and ELISABETH DYER
Published October 1, 2004
TAMPA - While some 2,000 students cheered at a Plant High School pep rally last week, members of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) took the field.
They ran across the grass with a long chain made of red construction paper, a bright reminder to their schoolmates that they should act responsibly during homecoming festivities.
"Make sure when you go to homecoming you don't drive," said 16-year-old SADD member Kevin McCarthy, pausing before adding, "if you're drinking."
Throughout Tampa, school administrators and student groups are stepping up efforts to remind high schoolers to make wise choices.
Such reminders occur throughout the year, but they're particularly visible around homecoming and prom dances, when alcohol and risky behavior can quickly turn a good time tragic.
It was just a year ago, after a homecoming dance, that a 14-year-old Plant High girl sneaked out of her house to drink with a group of boys, three of them schoolmates. The evening got out of hand and, seven months later, four young men pleaded no contest to felony battery.
School officials say such incidents are the exception. Generally, they say most students don't drink or do drugs.
Some students say otherwise, telling tales of girls in sequined dresses spending the entire dance clinging to a toilet and boys picking drunken fights.
Kathryn Hough, state coordinator for Florida's SADD, said most alcohol-related car accidents occur around homecoming and prom events.
"Traditionally, students have used those times to get blasted, and parents tend to be more lenient. We try to emphasize you can have safe, sober fun," Hough said. "You can have a DJ, you can dance and party and get home safe."
At Plant High, SADD members plastered posters on the walls reminding students to "be safe" during homecoming events, which culminate with a dance Saturday night at the Tampa Convention Center.
The group also created the "Chain of Life" from strips of red construction paper signed by students during homeroom as a pledge to make wise choices on homecoming night. As a reminder, they hung it in the cafeteria after the pep rally.
"We're asking everyone to please keep their promise and to be as safe as possible," said Maegan McCarthy, 17, president of Plant High's SADD chapter.
Maegan and her brother, Kevin - whose late father, Kevin McCarthy, was principal of Robinson High - are among nearly 400 members of SADD. The group is Plant's second largest student group and one of the largest of Florida's 330 SADD chapters.
Founded in Massachusetts in 1981 as Students Against Drunk Driving, the group changed its name in 1997 to Students Against Destructive Decisions and began focusing on fostering all-around good decisionmaking.
They encourage members to make school work a priority, volunteer in the community and take their jobs, if they have them, seriously.
But drunken driving is a priority, especially this time of year.
"The price of mistakes is just simply too high these days," said Tampa Catholic's student activities director Albert Fernandez, who works with the school's SADD club.
This year, school officials warned students about the hazards of drinking with a program called Street Smart. Capt. Ronnie Garcia of the Tampa Fire Department, along with paramedics, was scheduled to talk to students this week about what they've seen in the field and have students take part in a mock car accident. The act starts with a wrong decision and leads to the repercussions: an arrest record.
Tampa Catholic has a standing approach to homecoming that limits students from situations where alcohol and drugs might be available.
"We insist that it's a dinner/dance," Fernandez said.
The school closes the doors after 9 p.m. to prevent students from coming late and eating out where they could have access to alcohol. Any late arrivals must plead their case with the headmaster.
Besides these precautionary steps, students at Tampa Catholic take a course called Christian lifestyles that stresses individual responsibility. They learn practical advice about saying no and sticking with friends who share their values.
And, "We pray a lot," Fernandez said.
Nicholas Kavoulklis, a parent of five, including twins at Jesuit High, believes parents must be educated about dangers that children face.
"Don't assume that because your child is a good child, they won't be exposed to situations," he said. "It's a seedy world out there."
For the second year, Kavoulklis is paying to bring Robert Stutman, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent in New York City, to talk to parents about drugs.
Also invited to the event Oct. 26 at Jesuit High are parents from other area private schools, including Berkeley Preparatory School, Tampa Preparatory School, St. Mary's Episcopal Day School and Tampa Catholic High School.
Stutman emphasizes that drug use is not a problem limited to poor areas, Kavoulklis said. He also talks about the effects of drugs, such as LSD and Ecstasy, and rave clubs, which are "nothing more than places for kids to do drugs," Kavoulklis said.
"It's pretty eye-opening."
Twenty chaperones are lined up to help at Jefferson High School's homecoming dance, and four police officers will patrol the party Saturday night at the India Conference Center.
Neither drugs nor alcohol are major concerns, said Jefferson's student government sponsor Donald Hills.
"Our kids don't have money to buy drugs," he said. "We have the lowest incident rate of any high school."
His biggest worry: dirty dancing.
"The guys are really enjoying themselves," Hills said. "They're grinding, loving and rubbing."
Administrators often have to unlock couples on the dance floor.
"Back away, back away, that's what the teachers say," said junior Natalie Ruiz, 16.
Administrators at Robinson High say their chief concern is that parents know the schedule of events. They hope to prevent a repeat of last prom, when school officials had to wait one hour with a student whose parents did not know what time the dance ended.
This year, school officials plan to leave a recorded message on their voice mail and print a school brochure detailing event hours, dress code, expected behavior and what time parents should pick up their children from Saturday night's dance. To attend the event, students have to sign a form stating that they have received the brochure, principal Laura Zavatkay said.
As always, Robinson officials plan to be vigilant in checking for signs of underage drinking.
"We haven't had any issues," Zavatkay said. "I'm going to knock on some wood. We've got really good kids who understand what's expected of them."
The school hopes that by heavily publicizing the schedule, parents will keep close tabs on their children and prevent them from getting into trouble.
"My question would be as a school administrator "Do you know where your child is tonight?' " Zavatkay said. "That's always a responsibility of parents no matter whether it was 15 years ago or yesterday."
Before Hillsborough High School's homecoming dance on Oct. 30, school officials plan to talk to students about the dangers of drinking and driving and let them know they'll be suspended if they show up intoxicated at school-sponsored events.
"We deal with them from a discipline standpoint as well as calling the parents and having the students removed," said Bertha Baker, the school's assistant principal for administration.
Do such efforts help?
At the very least, school leaders say, getting the message out might encourage a teenager to think twice before taking a risk.
"It's not going to hit every single kid," said Stephanie Moore, Plant High's SADD faculty adviser. "But the more we say it and the more they see it every day, hopefully it will get to them."
- Staff writers Sherri Day and Amy Scherzer contributed to this report. Janet Zink can be reached at 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com
