COOPER, STUDENTS IN DENIAL ABOUT DRUG ABUSE While I do not dispute some of the larger points in Michael Cooper's DARE column, I think it is pretty clear Cooper and students like him in the Boone community are simply in denial about the culprit of drug abuse. How long are people going to blame drug education in grade school for drug problems, particularly at Appalachian State? It can certainly be argued that DARE may be ineffective, but that was fifth grade, people; accountability is a reality of growing up. I went to Appalachian State my freshman year, and I have never been around more potheads or drugs than I was then. Not that I am automatically condoning all of these things, but some of the lazy people who chose to light a joint rather than go to class for an hour or do anything productive for that matter have no one to blame but themselves. I am especially concerned with Cooper's reference to police officers as "the lowest of the low" in drug education. This is reality: getting caught with drugs by a police officer (especially something other than marijuana) can ruin your life. Drug legalization is a debate that can go on for years, but since drugs are not in fact legal, how can you argue hearing about the legal consequences of drug use is detrimental? Would Cooper suggest a local crackhead visit fifth graders and talk about "good trips" versus "bad trips"? Yes, there is a certain amount of drug use at every school, but it is not a "significant part of the culture" in every college town as Cooper assumes. Whenever I mention the fact that I transferred from Appalachian State, the inevitable follow-up question is, "Are you a pothead?" Cooper is perpetuating this ASU stereotype by deflecting the blame elsewhere-on law enforcement, on the DARE program and on the federal government. At the end of the day though, we all have a choice what to make of ourselves regardless of these influences. Even the editorial cartoon under the column is a testimony to this mindset of denial; when is the last time you saw anyone smoking a joint and reading a book? To add insult to injury, the cartoon is condescending toward people who drink and simultaneously sanctifies drug users as "better" and apparently not ignorant. I'm not going to argue that drinking is better than smoking pot, but there is a little irony in this column and cartoon in that the ignorance lies with these people who are in a constant state of denial about the realities of illegal drugs. Appalachian State has a real problem with drug use; how many more years are we going to have to watch an Appalachian student die due to drug-related violence in order to realize that? Mallory Pickard Duke University
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