MHS JUNIOR CRASHES CAR IN DWI ACCIDENT

School Community Struggles To Respond Effectively (originally published in The Globe, MHS student newspaper on October 10, 2002)

by Katherine Kirklin

On Friday, September 27, nine MHS students were involved in a drunk driving accident in Mamaroneck. The accident occurred at 9:15 pm when the driver ran a stop sign and collided with another car. No one in either car was seriously injured, although seven of the nine passengers were taken to the hospital with minor complaints. The driver was subsequently arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, running a stop sign, and operating out of restrictions on his junior driver license. Another passenger was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for failing to cooperate with police officers, yelling, and cursing. Two additional passengers had fled the scene before the police arrived, but were later apprehended.

Several of the passengers in the vehicle are members of MHS student organizations. Five are members of SafeRides, a student-run organization that provides rides to students on Friday and Saturday nights in an effort to combat drunk driving. According to the SafeRides Board, disciplinary action will be taken with those individuals.

At lunch on the Friday following the accident, a meeting was held in the PACE Auditorium to discuss the incident and the larger issue of drinking by MHS students. Presidents of student organizations, members of the student council, and sports captains were invited, although additional students, guidance counselors, members of the administration, and several teachers were in attendance. Helene Fremder, the school drug and alcohol counselor, and a senior student led the meeting. Each made brief opening remarks stating that the purpose of the meeting was not to preach to students, but rather to initiate an open dialogue about the issue. Myriad students as well as guidance counselors shared their views during the meeting.

According to Principal Mark Orfinger, the meeting was prompted by the events of the 27th as well as concern about Homecoming, which took place without incident on the weekend of October 1. The administration is also concerned that the incidence of drinking in our community is higher than the national average. Orfinger admitted that the adult members of the school community “don’t know why the [drinking] problem is so huge,” and that they are turning to the student body for answers.

Reactions to the meeting were mixed. One senior declared that the meeting, as well as any further action on the part of the school, would be ineffective. Others agreed that drinking is an issue with which individuals must wrestle and that the school has no role. Many of those in attendance, however, reacted positively, feeling that the meeting was an essential first step towards arresting the problem of drinking and drunk driving. Dr. Orfinger hopes that the meeting increased awareness, saying, “if people begin to think more then [the meeting] was worthwhile.” He was pleased that students and adults were coming together to attack the problem as a unit. Athletic Director Dave McGuckin offered his opinion, saying “I applaud the efforts of the student leaders and I think we’re stepping in the right direction. However, high school students don’t need to be told and lectured anymore. We need to concentrate on why students make the decisions they do and how we can deal with them.”

Dr. Orfinger also contended that the next step in the effort to combat drinking at MHS is unclear. A PTSA meeting with administrators from Hommocks and MHS on Thursday, October 10 with specialist Isabel Burk will discuss the situation and open the discussion to members of the community in the hopes that new solutions will emerge.

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