STUDENTS MUST LEARN FROM CHOICES

Heft Four Nickels In Your Hand.

That's about the weight of marijuana that gave JamesOn Curry a criminal
record and spiked a college scholarship and career playing hoops at UNC.
Heft three dimes in your other hand.

That's about the weight of marijuana that sent Jeff Webster to jail for
five to six months. Both young men were among some four dozen students
arrested after an undercover drug operation in the area schools. News of
the operation and arrests gave rise to intense feelings. Some praised the
school superintendent for initiating the operation. Others took him to task
for bringing law enforcement officers into the school. Some people said it
was about time some action was taken. Some said they felt the undercover
agents entrapped defendants. Only Webster chose to go to trial on his
arrest. The others worked out plea arrangements, with those with clean
records getting identical judgments: 36 months of probation and 200 hours
of community service. We hope the students take a lesson away from this
ordeal. They got good deals with the plea bargains. They will have to
adhere to specific behavior while on probation, and will serve the
community. They will have criminal records, and have suffered by
disappointing family and friends. But these events are not insurmountable.
This is a chance to take another path in life, a path that can be much
brighter. Perhaps the drug sweep was enough to scare those who did not get
caught into straightening up and flying right. These teenagers got painful
lessons in life. In these times, we are assaulted by the glamour of dope,
drinking, and sex. Some heed the warnings. Others are compelled to
experiment in the forbidden, not unusual for people since the beginning of
time. Even Adam and Eve caved in to temptation. Every day, people are faced
with temptations and choices. Some are as benign as rolling through a stop
sign when no other cars are around. Others are as devastating as taking a
hit off a crack pipe or pulling the trigger on an innocent. We all heft
"coins" of choices on a daily basis. Their weights are as varied as their
consequences.