Pobst says drinking problems must be addressed as a community partnership
By Celena Chong & Jackie Olson
For some seniors, prom night resulted in a busted party, 26 citations for underage consumption of liquor, and, later, co-curricular code consequences. It capped off a series of high-profile events within the 2011-2012 school year that were launched with the tailgating incident on the first day of school when 20 seniors were cited for being intoxicated during school hours.
According to Naperville Police Sergeant Gregg Bell, these kinds of events may be shocking to the greater community, but they are far from unknown to the Naperville Police Department.
“Teenage behavior, like everything else, ebbs and flows; some years it might be more noticeable than others, but overall I don’t see anything that’s happened [at NNHS] that is more outstanding than anything else,” said Bell.
However, the media attention given to the intoxicated tailgaters on the first day of school has marred the perception of the class of 2012, a perception that has carried throughout the school year. That perception was punctuated by what appeared to the large-scale drinking citations issued at a prom weekend party that included many seniors. Despite the widely accepted belief that this year’s seniors were more unruly than those in previous graduating classes, authorities say otherwise.
“I think it’s wrong to characterize the class of 2012 by the behavior of a relatively small number of students,” Principal Kevin Pobst said. “This is a problem for those students; there’s no question about that. But, this is not a problem of the class of 2012.”
Bell agrees.
“Kids experiment. They do,” Bell said. “And they make poor choices sometimes, and when they make poor choices, as adults, we need to hold them accountable and make them responsible for their actions.”
Pobst believes the common problem of teen drinking must be addressed by more than just the NNHS community.
“I think teenage use of alcohol and drugs is a societal problem, and I think it’s primarily an issue for families,” said Pobst. “[NNHS is] happy to partner with families to address it, but it has to be a partnership.”
A parent-child partnership of another kind was on display at the prom party, according to an April 29th police report obtained by The North Star.
That night, two Naperville officers responded to a call regarding a student destroying mailboxes in the Century Farms neighborhood. When the officers arrived on the scene, they determined that there was an underage party being hosted in the basement of the family home of a Class of 2012 female student.
.A parent let the officer into the home.
“Moving downstairs, I entered the partially finished basement and was immediately struck by the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage hanging strongly in the ambient air. Furthermore, the strong odor of burnt cannabis was also easily noted in the room,” the report said.
“Seconds later, behind the water heater, I observed a hidden stash of alcohol. There were approximately ten cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Coors, and other beers, as well as several large 1.5 liter bottles of Jack Daniels, Captain Morgan, Smirnoff, Grey Goose, Skoal, and Jaeger Meister. In the center of the stash was a large, 32-gallon plastic garbage can, filled with crushed beer cans, empty beer bottles, and emptied hard liquor bottles. On the floor adjacent the liquor were two soiled condoms. While walking beside [adult host], I also observed more than one pile/puddle of vomit. [Adult host] feigned surprise at all of this,” the report said.
Along with the ticked attendees, the adult hosts were issued citations for allowing a party involving underage drinking to take place under their supervision. According to the report, some parents became defensive when police began to issue citations to their children and others at the party, despite the fact that many partiers had already admitted to participation in illicit activities.
Bell was not surprised by the parents’ reaction.
“Families stick together as families,” said Bell. “Nobody wants to believe that someone that they know and love has gone and done something wrong or illegal.”
A party on March 30th, including mostly students from the class of 2103, was held at the home of a junior student, whose parents were also cited. Five underage students were cited as well according to a police report obtained by The North Star.
According to the police report, the smaller bust landed two of the party-goers in Edward Hospital for emergency treatment. According to the report, the party’s host said most of the alcohol at the party had been brought by guests who had left the scene before police arrived.
In both cases, consequences were administered by the school due to co-curricular code violations. According to Pobst, co-curricular code violations are the only punishment the school is able to give students who are involved in illicit activities off campus.
