Pubdate: Wed, 10 May 2006 Source: Telegraph (NH) Copyright: 2006 Telegraph Publishing Company Contact: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/885 Author: Andrea Bushee, Telegraph Staff Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) POT, SEX, BOOZE -- IT COULD BE YOUR KID AMHERST -- One in three Souhegan High School students say they have smoked marijuana or had sex, and two in three say they have used alcohol. But less than 10 percent of the parents of students at the school showed up to talk about those numbers Tuesday night. About 30 parents attended the discussion about the results of the 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey held at the school. The survey was taken by 837 students during school last year, which is about 81 percent of the student body. No students attended Tuesday's discussion. Jim Kimberly, an Amherst parent who attended the talk, said the statistics are real. Many parents had their own experiences with drinking in high school and parents know how kids hide it because they did it themselves, he said. "We have to be honest with ourselves and each other," he said. Parents talked about how to steer kids away from risky behavior. Some of those suggestions included bringing drug-sniffing dogs into the school, establishing a tip line for students to anonymously alert police, helping parents be more aware of what their kids are doing and checking up on them when they come home at night. Others said police should crack down on parents who allow students to drink at parties in their homes, or the school should create mandatory programs and workshops for parents. Souhegan High School students who took the survey were among students from 26 high schools in the state to participate in the study. The surveys were voluntary and anonymous. According to the survey, about 1 in 10 Souhegan students said they seriously considered suicide in the past year, and about 2 in 10 said they used drugs or alcohol before having sex. For the most part, the students' participation in risky behaviors was less than the state average, according to the study. However, 7.5 percent of Souhegan students said they carried weapons to school. The state average is 6.5 percent.Sue Clark, a parent and staff support employee in the school's guidance office, said the survey is an asset to the community. "It's not the school's responsibility," she said about preventing students from participating in risky behaviors. "It's our responsibility." Clark shared some of her own experiences of finding out about parties her son planned to attend. She was naive with her first child, she said, but soon learned she needed to do things her children might not like, such as calling their friends parents to make sure they would be there when her kids went to their homes. Parents are not supposed to be friends with their children, she said. "They've got enough friends," she said. Sue Feeney said she and other parents have decided to start a program called Project Graduation, which will include a lock-in event where students can socialize and spend the night together under adult supervision after the graduation this year. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman