opinion // 2

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016

Recent choir transgressions indicative of a communitywide drug problem that needs to be addressed, changed
Though the spotlight is currently on choir for
recent disciplinary consequences following the use
of marijuana on a school trip, the larger issue of
drug culture in Grosse Pointe needs to be confronted.
Many sources, including Principal Moussa
Hamka, told us that the use of marijuana edibles at
the choir Findlay competition was not a random
occurrence--rather, it was a tradition. This pattern
is manifest in several stories we have reported on,
including, football
team suspensions for
marijuana use twice
in the past two years.
In addition, weve
covered underage
drinking, Adderall
abuse and LSD usage along with accounts of recovering addicts and graduates who have passed away
from overdose.
While Souths culture is fueled by many positive
traditions, substance abuse is a negative tradition
at South that has escalated quickly without proper
education behind it.
Many students dont know the repercussions
behind having a fake ID or how often dealers lace
their marijuana with other substances in order
to create a dependence on a stronger drug. Many
students dont know how much is too much or
the negative effects that follow the instant high or
drunk feelings. Many students dont know that the
choices they make now are only a temporary fix
and influence their likelihood to be an addict later
in life.
The trend of substance abuse is apparent in our
everyday lives. It is rare to walk down the hallway
without overhearing a group talking about partying over the weekend. It is rare to go a weekend
without seeing our peers under the influence on
Snapchat, Instagram or other social media platforms. It is rare to not be offered illegal substances
at some point in our high school careers.
While all of these statements make sense on
paper, they are often forgotten the instant we are
put in a situation where we are told it will feel
amazing and persuaded to have fun and live a little. It makes sense for teenagers to want to escape
reality and not feel.
However, instead of turning to drugs, we should
be taught other ways to cope with our stressful
lives. Everybody has their own unique set of circumstances and challenges that occur at random
times in life; if we are always turning to drugs and
alcohol to escape these feelings, then nothing will

OUR VIEW //
EDITORIAL

Cartoon by JEN TOENJES 16

ever be resolved.
A strong foundation educating students with
the wide-range of effects of substances and alternative coping mechanisms is essential to escaping
the drug culture currently present at South. If we
are more informed about what goes on behind that
instant euphoric feeling, we might be less apt to sip,
inhale or ingest an illegal substance.
Allowing students to hear first-hand perspectives of past addicts and the struggles theyve
gone through can bring awareness to the nega-

tive impacts of drugs and alcohol that cannot be

quantified alone on a sheet of paper. The emotional
and physical effects are often most powerfully
explained by somebody who has experienced them
personally.
For example, a few years ago there was a student
who was required, as part of her restitution for selling fake IDs, to lecture a class at South. During that
hour, the class remained dead silent, processing
and thinking about her words and experiences.
Opportunities like these shed a necessary light

on consequences and effects that seem like they

will never happen. Requiring seminars or lectures
about difficult issues, like substance abuse, will
provide our students with real-world knowledge
and experience that is just as valuable as lessons we
learn in class.
In order for us to be the best people we can be,
it is important for us to receive education in more
than just pure academics. Substance abuse is ingrained in our culture and will not go away unless
we engage in honest conversations about it.

Overuse of the word love in

general diminishes meaning

HUMANS OF SOUTH
Emma Clutterbuck 16

MY
VIEW

Rachel Harris
18

NEWSPAPER

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Scrolling through Instagram the other

day, it became apparent to me the excessive use of the word love in captions,
comments and pictures, whether it was
friends commenting, love you, or people
raving about their latest love for gluten on
the Girls with Gluten page.
The word itself is everywhere and overflowing in our society; quizzes in magazines, TV advertising and texting lingo.
We tell our family that we love them,
yet we use that same word for how we feel
about our parents toward our love of food
or our phone.
I often talk about how much I love my
family, but I also use the word love to describe how I feel about when the bell rings
Friday at 3:05. However, even though I really enjoy weekends, this feeling cannot be
compared to the relationship I have with
my family.
There should not be the same word
used for the feeling that we have for our
friends and the feeling we have towards
chocolate.

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If the word can be found and used for a

wide variety of content, people and things,
it lessens the meaning of what love truly is.
The Greek language has numerous ways
to say the word love. Various words in
Greek, such as eros, philia, lundus or agape
can mean anything from romantic love to
unconditional human love or familial love.
Different ways to use love in other languages allows the word to be preserved
and held to its high standards.
According to the Merriam-Webster
Dictionary, love is a strong desire for another arising out of kinship or personal
ties.
Love is not the feeling you have towards
food or movies or social media.
Love is the feeling that arises from us
towards the people we truly care about.
By using the word towards materialistic
items that arent as important as the people
in our lives, it degrades the true value of
who and what we really love.
Instead of throwing love around, the
phrase should be held to the high standards that it contains and should strictly
be used for the people in our lives that we
deeply care about.
We dont love food. We like it. We do,
however, love our parents.
Lets limit our use of the word love to
stop equating the joy materialistic items
sometimes bring us to the everlasting love
we have for our friends and family.

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Rod Satterthwaite
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