STUDENTS' DRUG USE HANDLED FAIRLY

Looking for a place to buy a little weed?

Look in the Friday, 12-14 October edition of the Caymanian Compass in
the story about school students busted for allegedly using ganja at a
beach party.

The kids admitted they bought the illegal substance at Seven Mile Public Beach.

These students were part of a larger group of kids hanging out at the
beach. They just happened to be the ones singled out and who now face
the embarrassment of suspension from school and random drug testing
for the rest of their tenure at Cayman Prep High School.

Kudos to Cayman Prep Principal Jean Bahadur for the way she is
handling the situation.

All of the students admit what they did was wrong.

We bet that this is a life lesson they'll never forget.

Parents who have school aged children would be doing themselves and
their kids a service by going back to Friday's paper and reading that story.

Pay particular attention to Mrs. Bahadur's statements.

She, as an educator, has been told that ganja is readily available on
Walkers Road, behind Burger King, behind the cinema and on Seven Mile
Public Beach.

If she knows this, surely the Royal Cayman Islands Police Services
knows it too. Are these areas being regularly patrolled? It wouldn't appear so.

But what's more important is the role of parents in this gem of
information Mrs. Bahadur has passed on. She asked parents, 'do you
know where your children areUKP'

If they're hanging out on Seven Mile Beach, behind the cinema or the
Burger King on Walkers Road, chances are they're not there just to
sip a Coke and catch up on the week's gossip.

Schools and the police do all they can to educate children about the
dangers of drug use, but if there isn't any backing from parents, all
of their hard work is futile.

It is incumbent on parents to know where their children are and who
they're hanging out with. Our children aren't our friends - they're
our children and as parents we have an obligation to teach them right
from wrong, and that includes keeping them away from the wrong crowds.

We would hope that other schools would take a cue from Cayman Prep's
leadership and come up with policies of dealing with students who
indulge in illegal substances - whether at school or not.