Illinois Students Getting Minor in Possession Class

by: Mike Miller
9/7/2016

There was a time when children got dressed up to go to school. They respected their teachers and feared being sent to the principal’s office. While this may not quite be a sign of the apocalypse, I just cannot understand youth these days.

As bad as I was, I never went to school in a drunken state. Now comes the story of some Illinois teens at Naperville North High School who were suspended after they appeared to be drunk when they showed up for class Wednesday.

At least 20 seniors are being questioned about what happened. School administrators have been meeting individually with students and their parents. They have suspended a number of those students, but they say they are treating each of the cases individually.

It is the second day of the school year for members of the Class of 2012 at Naperville North, but some of the students are already in trouble after administrators say they showed up intoxicated Wednesday morning.

They are suspected of drinking alcohol Tuesday night or Wednesday morning in an off-campus setting.

The spokesperson also said that from conversations with students, it appears this began as an overnight party with alcohol involved, and a number of the students apparently showed up the next morning still under the influence. Of course this is a clear violation of Illinois Alcohol Laws.

Robyn Block, director of Illinois Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), says statewide teenagers begin drinking at age 14 on average. She says incidents like this offer a good opportunity for constructive dialogue about drinking.

The school district finally has plans to implement Illinois Minor in Possession classes. This is a step in the right direction. Any students found guilty of being intoxicated at school should face a harsh punishment as a future deterrent for both themselves and classmates.