Alcohol: Common Sense and
Novi High School's Alternative
April 2004
 

Novi High School students are finally back home after a week off from school, when the warmer states (and countries) were more or less blessed with their presence.  Since the Spring Break topic was covered here last April, you might have to look elsewhere to find out what your child or friend was doing hundreds of miles away from home. 

Rather than reflect on the possibilities of the past week, we can be glad they’re home safe, and look ahead to the future where we’re nearing the end of another school year that feels like it just started.  Better yet, seniors are nearing the end of a high school career that feels like it just started. 

The early days of high school are something we’ll never forget, and though we have no idea what happened in the middle, the last few days are sure to be unforgettable as well.  Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors cram in a semester of studies to prepare for exams, hoping to head into the summer on the right foot. 

With the graduation clock ticking away, seniors fit a lifetime of partying in with their friends, just in case they don’t see each other again.  With so little responsibility at the end of the school year, seniors go to school only to find out what everyone’s doing afterwards. It’s the time of year when many students make the mistake of trying to make every night as memorable as the last. 

But, isn’t it ironic that alcohol gets involved and many won’t remember anything in the first place.  The anti-drinking lecture may get redundant, but it never loses its importance.  Many teenagers simply don’t have the common sense to drink alcohol safely, which is why there’s a drinking age in the first place.  Speaking of age, these are the months where most of our seniors turn 18, bringing harsher penalties to those who do choose to drink, and even harsher for those who choose to drive.  And students who attend Novi High School do drink, and drive.

It’s near impossible to attend NHS without catching drift of some student’s tale of their latest drinking experience, in which no student ever points out the negative; because of course, that just wouldn’t be “cool.”  Well, neither is getting in a car accident, and neither is dying.  With the childish looks of amazement from teenage listeners, a glass of water and a stool for the story teller, and we’d all be back in 1^st grade.  There’s something about alcohol that makes even the most “mature” giddy with excitement.

Alcohol is a drug that’s easy to get.  Too easy to get.  It’s five feet away in the refrigerator.  It’s with your brother’s friend’s cousin who just turned 21.  It’s a customer at a local store, a proposal, and five dollar tip.  In high school, alcohol isn’t just at the party, it is the party, and students will do anything to get it.        

Informed and active, the Novi Community School District is on the case.  Offering a safe alternative to a post-graduation party with the popular All-Night Party at the High School, the district shuts the door on one of the most alcohol-prone nights for students: graduation night.  

It is encouraging to know that seniors are offered this non-alcoholic alternative to underage drinking, compliments of the Novi Community Schools.  Thousands of dollars are spent each year across Michigan for high school All-Night Parties, and every year the schools receive a great turn-out.  This year, the party will be held on June 5^th, Graduation Day, at Novi High School.

Sure, it’s just one night of hundreds, but it does something very important that many overlook.  It shows teenagers how to have fun without the influence of alcohol.  A principle many teenagers fail to comprehend.

 (c) 2004 the Novi Information Network