Saferides, not Youmustbedrunkrides

      This year, I am a co-head for Saferides, a program that provides a ride home for any sophomore, junior, or senior at New Trier on most Friday and Saturday nights throughout the school year. It's completely confidential, meaning that students who have been drinking cannot get in trouble with the police or New Trier.

2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey done by the CDC 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey done by the CDC

      When the program was started in 1994, the  New Trier's Parent Alliance for Drug and Alcohol Awareness was completely opposed to it. Over its 18 years of existence, the program has received praise from local police and fire departments. On the other hand, people in the community have said that it condones teen-drinking. A 2009 Chicago Tribune article wrote, "Some contend it undercuts the fact that underage drinking is a crime."  

       In a New York Times article, the then-leader of Saferides, Jeffrey Brooks, said, "Kids make mistakes. They need someone to get them home safely. You don’t realize how trapped these kids are.”

      The fact is, some teenagers are going to drink. Criticizing a program, or even terminating a program, for providing safe rides home for these teens doesn't stop the drinking. It puts these kids in a worse position and a potentially life-threatening situation. 

The Draft Wars

Last year, I did a research paper on the effects that deployments have on soldiers' children. In class last week, we discussed danger in times of war. The practice of drafting men for the military came up as well. This topic reminded me of an article I found in The New York Times during my research last year.


The author, Bob Herbert, writes that the disconnect between American citizens and our military situation is at an all time high. People don't care enough about our wars because they aren't directly affected therefore less and less people join the military. He says that this causes more and more deployments for those in the military. He declares, "I would bring back the draft in a heartbeat. Then you wouldn’t have these wars that last a lifetime."


I don't know if the draft should be brought back, but I do know that too many people just don't care enough about the wars we are fighting because they don't hit close to home. We care more about sports and entertainment than we do about our own people dying. Herbert says: 

"We can get fired up about Lady Gaga and the Tea Party crackpots. We’re into fantasy football, the baseball playoffs and our obsessively narcissistic tweets. But American soldiers fighting and dying in a foreign land? That is such a yawn."

I know that I am guilty of this as well. But now that my brother is nearing his own deployment, I find myself reading the newspaper on a daily basis and reading military books. I have tried to educate and connect myself more to the wars that are raging on in the Middle East. I know that my case is somewhat unique to the North Shore, but people need to be more connected to our military situation whether or not you are against or for war. 

"A" is for average, right?

"When did earning an "89" become not good enough?" 


This was the sub-headline of an article written by Kelly Villano of the Hillsborough Patch.  After our discussion in class about the need to be first in American culture, I did some research. I found this article. 

This graph shows GPA trends from 1920-2006.
 (Courtesy of gradeinflation.com)

In it, Villano argues argues that the pressure in our society to be #1 has stemmed from "a culture of 'Keeping up with the Jones’ taken to the extreme." All parents want their children to be the best,  sometimes putting huge amounts of pressure on them in school and other activities. While my parents don't put tremendous pressure on me, I find I put this pressure on myself.


Villano then says, "now a 'B' has become the new “C”. I find this to be completely true. I wouldn't be happy with a "C" in a class.  A "C" isn't good enough to me. I find it very frustrating when teachers say things like, " a 'C' is average, you should be happy with it." Not only do I think a "C' isn't average anymore, but frankly I don't want to be average. I strive to be the best because the culture I grew up in says that's what I should do. This culture has become a part of me.


I know that this is the case with my students around New Trier and in this community.


Do you think this pressure will be beneficial for us in the future? Do you think this pressure will continue to build as it has over the last century?