Hopkins High School - Warrior Yearbook (Minnetonka, MN)

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Hundreds of reenogers d»e eoch yeor os o resulr of drugs or olcohol So why ore reens ... Nancy Reagan said, Jusr Say No . The dictions. Who was right? What were the Grateful Dead sang Driving that train, high answers? What was happening at Hopkins on cocaine . Drug and alcohol use become a jumble of mixed messages: in the past year we heard of talented athletes like Len Bias and countless rock stars using drugs, bur then other celebriries-Bill Cosby, U2, Mercury Morris- told us how destructive drugs were to our lives. Contra- ry When I do ir it's ro ger owoy from things rhor I con'r undersrond. -a junior High? Why did people make the choices they did? What could be done? A survey of Hopkins students provided some answers which indicated that, without a doubt, getting high was a fact of high school life in 1987. Friday nighr. Mom's ex-pensive gloss trinkets were % token from the monrte. Dogs of Donros ond Cheez Curls were waring The kegs appeared Alcohol use has become on influential port in the lives of o vast majority of srudents. 85.4% of Hopkins High's students hove used olcohol outside o family setting ond 72.5% of those who drink, drink or leosr once o month. A! quotes one) yoreno from HopMns Hgb vu dents were compied from o survey of 250 tenth Through twelfth graders In rher Engfeh dosses Some surveys were e mr«orcd be couse of certain inconssrenoes • Mnneopote Sr or ond Tribune Teens ond Drugs survey 1966 24 DRUGS Our beyond the focts lies the question: Why do students drink? The reasons vary. One student soid, It gives me o feeling of independence I hove o good rime ond I feel free.” Another responded, “It’s easier ro hove o beer in your hond or o porTy so you don't hove ro explain why you're nor drinking.'' It may be assuring ro parents ro know rhor the big beer bosh' wos nor os populor os rhey might hove thought. 35.8% of srudents reported having drunk mosr often with o few friends” rorher rhon the 15.4% who mosr often drank or lorge pomes. The seriousness of olcohol use ond abuse omong reenogers has been hotly debated. Ir is serious rhor hundreds of kids end up in detox or treatment eoch yeor. Out, on the other hond. most reens still orty drink socially. Of course, there is the other end of the spectrum: students who don't use. Although in the minority, rhey pur forth o strong voice in supporting their side of the issue. One student said. I've never felt o need ro fill my body with o bunch of junk ond to mess up my mind. I don't believe olcohol is o necessary port of o hoppy life.” Although legal, morjuono wos almost os populor os olcohol. 47.7% of Hopkins High's student body hove used the drug, which wos sti less rhon the Minnesota overage of 54%. Also, the majority of users only tried it o few rimes. One infrequent user soid, Sometimes I felt too our of control; bke I wouldn't be able to ger bock ro normal.”

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In Memorium over il A)CKy Nelson, stnger-45 Flo Hymon. CXymp-c vofleybofi chomptan-01 James Cogney. ocror 86 Denny Goodman, musoon-77 jomes Eosricnd, former U S Senoror-81 Ted Krtghr. ooor-62 Hank Greenberg. Home-run h »rer-75 Cory Grom, actor-89 Dey Axnez. producer and ocror-69 Day Dokjer. scarecrow on the Wizard of Oz-83 Danny Kaye, ear err oner-73 of coomry yor johnny Cdsh, wasiri Firy year Vising Heoc ddesi hedd cooch vj 9 7 record, rheir besr. Across rhe Srore JVy 8. Gosoine pipe ne exploded n mounds view. king o woman ond her doughrer Seprember 12, Umon officok onnouoced rhor meorpochers in Auym ronfied o comroa rhor serried o lobor depute or Hormei Ocrcber 14. Mory Lund, rhe fry womon to hove on artifodhearr imptonr. died or Abborr Norrhweyern Hospirol November 4, Rudy Perptch easily won redecrion over Col Ludemon December 2, RkJye Kiger wos arrested for the staying ond cfemembermenr of Morno Jeon Orennen. November 21. The Perpkh odmrwyroron reieosed c revenue forecoy showng rhe yore woUd be S813 mien in the red by rhe end of rhe next two years CURRENT EVENTS 23

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Although Hopkins ttgh was below rhe Minnesota aver-oge in use of cocaine and its derivative crock, it sri doubled rhe overoge on overol use of fegal drugs (exckxjing marjuano) 21 5% of students or Hopkins used iegol drugs corn-pored with 10 9% in Minnesota os a whole. Speed and add were rhe most popular drugs or Hopkins, with 13 4% ond 12.6% having used them respectively. Add is terrifying ... ond very accessible.’' commented Sharon McDonald, a school sodal worker. In fact, most drugs ore quire avcsJoble at Hopkins -even I know when odd is aval- able.'' Dorbituores, quooludes, cocaine. speed, hashish, ... it was all ovoiloble to Hopkins students. Even crock, with on od-dicrion potential higher than herion, was used, although sources soy it was nor available in rhe school itself. Tires screech Metal twists. Goss shatters. A % vodka bottle breaks on rhe pavement. DWI. Thar’s Drinking While Intoxicated ond 24.1% of Hopkins Ugh students reported having done it. This figure was sightly less rhon rhe Minnesota aver oge, but that still didn't lessen rhe severity of rhe problem. Hundreds of teens die or ore injured each year in olcohol or drug related cor accidents. Out an organization or school tried to do something about it. SADD-Srudenrs Against Driving Drunk- held a progrom in rhe fall to inform rhe student body of its activities. At one of rhe hourly sessions senior Adam Soeks soid, SADD does nor condemn or condone drinking. We simply want you to know they there is a problem and hope that you support SADD in its endeov-ors.’’ The organization was formed our of concern regarding rhe dangerous situations students were putting themselves into involving drinking ond driving. SADD's goal was to instigate a pickup service which any student could coB if he or she was unable to drive home safely Peer pressure ... prob- ably one of rhe most over used phrases heard by teenagers Why do high school students use drugs? Ann Landers soid peer pressure.” What's rhe reason? Phil Donohue said peer pressure. Out, surprisingly, only 22.6% of students soid their drug or olcohol use was influenced by their peers. As one yu-denr pur it Peer pressure is gor-boge-if that's rhe kind of friends you have then they aren't your friends. Of course, there were some yudenrs who dtd feel their peers played a large port in their chemical use. One junior soid, Some of the things I've done were just to make someone else think I could handle it and was cool enough JUST SAY You were at a parry when there was o knock or the door. Or maybe you were cruising along when a police officer's sirens starred whinng behind you When that squod cor showed up. was rhe pony over? What could rhey do? In a nationwide survey, yudenrs poSed soid their greorey fear in using drugs or olcohol was prosecution. Hundreds of minors were orreyed lay year for underoge drinking, drug possession or DWIs In some cases, it was o short trip to the local poke yorion ond a call to Mom At rhe worey, it was a record that toted o life-rime. From rhe facts presented, it is obvious that there was a problem Hopkins teens, like teens across rhe notion, were using drugs ond olcohol. some or alarming rotes Out who was to soy how to solve it? Sharon McDonald hod some answers for mony yudenrs The problem she sow moy often was olcohol abuse As she soid, Alcohol, by ond large, is the biggey issue at Hopkins High There s no comparing olcohol with pot and other drugs ” She felt that many factors influenced addiction ro drugs, rhe moy important being hereditary influences ond rhe abuser's self-imoge A student reflected Mrs. McDonold’s point when he said, Alcohol is for people who are insecure about themselves. Also, Teochers do nor ger involved enough when they see a problem with a student. And if they do report it to a parent, oil rhe adult con muster is disbelief.” Moc-Donokj bebeved that a possible solution would be to install preventative measures when rhey really count : one year before experimentation, which would mean the sixth or seventh grode While mony students refrained from using drugs, ond others hod been freed of their oddenons, mony continued ro join rhe drug scene eoch day It was 1987 ond like it or nor. drugs were a parr of rhe culture at Hopkins High. DRUGS 25