The current drug and alcohol policy at Episcopal is one that Scholium believes to be fair; however, we believe all the details of the policy should be made transparent to the community. Most students are not frustrated with the policy itself. They are frustrated because they do not know exactly what the policy entails.
We assert that the drug and alcohol policy should be more clearly laid out in the student handbook to avoid confusion regarding such a serious issue and prevent the administration from being seen as unfair in their punishments. The explicit provisions to our “zero-tolerance” policy, which Head of Upper School Geoffrey Wagg recently disclosed to Scholium (see “Drug and Alcohol Policy Revealed” on page one), are not widely known. Students deserve to know the rules which could determine their fate and the fate of their peers.
We agree with most of the provisions to the “zero-tolerance” policy. Coming to campus intoxicated or under the influence of drugs is disgraceful and students who show such overt disrespect for their classmates and school community deserve to lose the privilege of attending Episcopal. If an upperclassman is drunk or high on campus, it implies that he or she drove to campus, or will have to drive home from campus, under the influence, which has devastating potential not only to our school community but also to the local community.
With this in mind, we assert that all students who are found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol on campus, regardless of whether they have finished their academic classes, should be expelled. Seniors remain representatives of the school until the day they graduate, especially when on this campus, and should serve as examples to underclassmen until then.
We also agree that students’ off-campus behavior on weekends and breaks should not be policed by the administration as it is much easier for adolescents to make irresponsible choices in these types of situation. An integral part of growing up is learning from mistakes. Students should be not be punished for making these mistakes as long as their actions occur off-campus and do not put themselves or others in harm’s way.
Although there remains much debate over whether social hosts should be punished, we agree with the current policy that punishes social hosts who put their guests in dangerous situations.
Ultimately, we believe that a true “zero-tolerance” policy is not fair to students. We agree with Wagg’s belief that the administration should not institute a “one strike and you’re out” policy for youthful indiscretions. However, this behavior is much different than that of a student who chooses to come to the campus under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This reckless behavior is not acceptable of Episcopal students and should result in expulsion, regardless of any other circumstances.
The Episcopal Academy