LIMA — Students from Students Against Destructive Decisions chapters from Allen East and Perry joined with the Bath Interact Club to have a “reality party” Monday to share the destructive outcomes of an unsupervised teen party.
The students met and scripted the 20-minute presentations followed by a 10-minute debriefing session in which students and adults could share concerns. The fictitious party played out in many rooms of the house, stopping to allow the students to point out a problem or share an alarming statistic.
“This stuff actually happens in Lima and maybe not all of these situations will happen at the same party, but it is very likely to happen anytime,” Bath student Shelby Marsteller said.
In a bedroom, students were acting as if they were sharing marijuana. The party would pause, and a student shared facts about the drug. Marijuana today is 50 to 60 percent more potent and can be laced with other narcotics such as PCP heroin, cocaine or fentanyl.
In addition to drugs, there was a fight, alcohol, body shaming and an overdose. Things became real for those attending the party when the enactment was joined by members of the Lafayette-Jackson Volunteer Fire Department came in to deal with the young lady who had ingested pills and passed out.
“All our schools are going through the vaping problem. You don’t know what’s in that stuff,” Allen East Superintendent Mel Rentschler said in the debriefing session.
The reality party was summarized by one student, who said, “What was meant to be a good safe and fun time for a group of friends ended up with a mess with consequences that can’t be undone.”
The key is for adults to play their part in children making the right decisions, said Allen East SADD advisor Kelly Prichard said.
“I think what teens need from us as adults are adults who model good behavior,” she said, “adults who don’t provide alcohol for their children just because they feel like it easier than fighting with them. We need adults who will give them an opportunity to have sober parties. We don’t see that very often.”
It was a good message for students to hear.
“To know that even though your friends will peer pressure you to do all those things, you don’t have to,” said Anna from Perry High School. “Even if they say, ‘It’s not cool’ or whatever; you’re so cool because you’re choosing not to do it.”
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