Northwest High School - Vanguard Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

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of school work and outside iobs were cited as for use of uppers and downers, pills to increase or induce sleep, with habitual use, their con- often became dependence. Hallucinatory and alcohol were more socially-oriented drugs, in- get-togethers sometimes became beer or pot par- even with the great risk of being raided. Legal or not, drug use continued for many students. o combat it, Dr. Shuck attempted to form a committee students to discuss and ofter alternatives to drug use. felt that students could better fight drug abuse at than adults. Legal drinking was within arm's reach for Pioneers 18 years old when the state legislature passed a permitting the sale of alcoholic beverages to all men women I8 or older. As the bill waited for Governor Whitcomb's approval or veto, opinions poured his office, at first, letters ran heavily against the but later support came from college towns. late support failed to convince Whitcomb, as he ve- the bill, claiming it was not in the best interest of people. The legislature upheld the veto, leaving -to-20 year olds with partial adult rights. lb-cl As part of Drug Scene: lal Checking the authenticity lndianapolis at the Children's of his illness, Mrs. Resnick MUS9Um,fl1959 two Pllolo mU ' fakes fhe femperofure of als illustrate two casses of freshman David Hcrrless. df'-19 abuse.

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What were the alternatives when the pressure built up inside Northwest students, when no amount of dever- sions or recreations could solve the frustrating ex- periences of living in the middle of childhood and adult- hood? To escape the pressure, many students ultimately walked down several avenues of release, each on a dif- ferent level of gravity. An impending test or class presentation sent many students to the nurses's office with dizzy spells or an up- set stomach. Mrs. Lillian Resnick, the school nurse saw 50 to 75 students daily in her first floor office. Although some were imposters, most that visited the nurse were ill. When a student entered the office, Mrs. Resnick tried first to ascertain what was wrong. lf the illness involved fatigue, headache, or other minor maladies, the student would rest on a cot, should the sickness be of a more serious nature, Mrs. Resnick contacted the student's par- ent's if he was to be sent home. With regulations defin- ing a school nurse's role, Mrs. Resnick was permitted to administer reasonable first aid. Any dispensing of medication without perscription was illegal. Excuses for going to the nurse's office ranged from humorous to grim. Mrs. Resnick recalled a most unusual reason from a boy who suffered from acute itching. ln- vestigation revealed that the boy's mother had washed his underwear with fiberglass curtains, leaving irritants in the cloth. The most serious accidents she had dealt with involved bone fractures, though there were few.3 Occasionally a student sought the nurse's aid after tak-' ing a drug that they could not cope with. However, Mrs. Resnick felt that the nurse's office was the last place a 4 person with a drug problem would have gone. - Awareness of drug use on the high school level was underscored by the schedule of guidance counselor Dr. Gilbert Shuck, while most faculty members' ninth period involved preparatory periods of teaching freshman or sophomore classes, Dr. Shuck's schedule read Narcot- ics-Room l76. His duties entailed educating North-y west of the modern problems of drug use. ln February and March, Drug Scene: Indianapolis, a free exhibit at the Indianapolis Children's Museum, illustrated the vio- lence of drug abuse with I9 photomurals, each explain- ing one of last year's city deaths attributed to a drug' overdose. The range of dangerous drugs some students turned to included alcohol and mentally-and physically-alter- ing drugs, reasons for their use ranged from social ac- ceptance to physical need. Discovering the actual num- ber of drug users in the Northwest student body was an impossible task, most kept their habits concealed, and many non-users felt that social status would increase with tales of experiments with alcohol or mariiuana, E ca e from class..- esca e from liFe.'

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CLBARAN CE CARD J D i '14 I Name ,, l .ohliw , ,A,,,w,v, H. R. ig Date of Loss 1f16fZ2 Age at Date of Loss Mmllius..- I Grade in School wHs..1eO. .e N Progress: Good Fair Failure Fair ,,,. ' r I Reason for Withdrawal Wugagiulf, --A f MMA' ww,- T ' f d f: . . . , cig2,,j:,iZS Cad? fhgopxrgcj Chlld Lives With W.,-,lla Father L... Mother ,,i,,,,,-, work that makes him a statis- HC' and G lonely figure outside Uccupation so eeee . Mw.,.-,--.,,..,s..4 Father ?ill?i.,1fQL,,- Mother -H23 Northwest, thinking of op- portunities lost. . , . 1 . Referred to Social SQFVICC , a . ,-,-..w.... aa, Yes awww--N NoN,u,,,-New Drop in on Mrs. est, or may drop out. H elping students over emotional problems was the iob of Northwest social worker Sarah West. In her office three afternoons a week, Mrs. West talked to students about their experiences with or desires of running away from home, pregnancy, absence from school. With help from the deans and teachers, Mrs. West was able to confer with six to ten students daily, the maiority of them girls. Students were usually referred to the social worker by a teacher or counselor, but many came in of their own accord. Talks with Mrs. West lasted around 20 minutes, if there was a need for deeper investigation into the student's background and thoughts, another ap- pointment was arranged. At first, most were apprehen- sive, but Mrs. West's manner put them at ease, by lis- tening, an act many youth thought adults could not perform, she overcame their misgivings and delved into the root of their problem. 64 Lack of the type of personal attention that Mrs. West gave the Northwest students influenced some to make the final escape from high school-dropping out. North- west's annual dropout rate reached T3 per cent in 1971, although a comparatively low figure, it still de- notes a failure somewhere. Reasons for dropping out sometimes reflected a student's attitude towards school, with such words as Hregimented administration, giant social club, or irrelevant, dropouts expressed their displeasure with high school. Almost as often, diffi- culties at home caused students to leave school. One Northwest girl dropped out, saw her error and returned to night school, but dropped out again because of con- flicts at home. In his book, The Dropout: Causes and Cures, Lucius F. Cervantes stated: The dropout is reared in a family of less solidarity, less primary related- ness, and less personal influence than is the family in which thekgraduate is reared. Perhaps the saddest excuse given for withdrawal was simply age l6, meaning that the student has reached the age when he can legally leave school, and he has done so. Through individual efforts of ttte faculty, a potential dropout was recognizable early and was given special attention. ln an endeavor to realize the discovery of' such students, the Indianapolis Public Schools increased their facilities with guidance, and psychological and soe cial services, such as the social worker. l l i il