"On a Monday morning last month, highway patrol officers visited 20 classrooms at El Camino High School [Oceanside, California] to announce some horrible news: Several students had been killed in car wrecks over the weekend. Classmates wept. Some became hysterical. A few hours and many tears later, though, the pain turned to fury when the teenagers learned that it was all a hoax — a scared-straight exercise designed by school officials to dramatize the consequences of drinking and driving." While the school defends its actions, some students are protesting: "Death is real. Don't play with our emotions." [more inside]
posted by ericb on Jun 12, 2008 - 138 comments

“Not only is it illegal, but it's becoming increasingly dangerous,” Leggio said of underage drinking. How dangerous? Well apparently dangerous enough that one affluent Kansas City community has decided that it is best to have police spy on teens during high school basketball games. Oh it gets better, apparently a carload of teens is enough for a Lenexa cop to follow you! So the parents should be up in arms right? Nope, they encourage the police, even calling them ("she told dispatchers that when she called home to check on her son, it sounded like a party was going on"). Yet surprisingly, despite this almost police-state like mentality against drinking, attitudes are slow to change.
posted by geoff. on Jan 2, 2005 - 35 comments