Intoxication concerns mar student activity day

Mark Crozier had nearly made it through his first week as principal at the Jr./Sr. High School when a student suspected of being intoxicated arrived in his office last Friday.

It was activity day, the wrap-up to Stewardship Week for the Grade 10’s, and a group of unruly students caused the long-running “shaving cream fight” tradition to be cancelled. 

It was rumoured the kids were drunk, and Crozier spoke with one who had been sent to his office for that reason. “I interviewed several students, and made the decision they seemed...  not intoxicated,” he said. 

A tradition for the past 20 years or so, Crozier said the shaving cream fight, in which participants spray and smear shaving cream on one another, was already a cause for concern. “Because kids, when they’re fighting, they end up wrestling and there has been in the past a few injuries resulting from that, nothing intentional, some teachers were wondering about it,” he said. 

He decided to scrap the event. “Just as with anything kids can get a little carried away,” he said. “This year during activity day some students were already all hyped up and not really following directions, and the decision was made to end activity day early and not have the shaving cream component.”

He said the students were disappointed, but he had to consider the appropriateness of the fight. “Times change, so some activities that were started may not be suitable for today’s educational environment,” Crozier said.

The GYRD school board’s policies are geared toward providing a safe and caring learning environment, said Nicole Merrifield, communications manager. “There’s obvious things that are simply not allowed at school,” she said. “And then other things that are up to the principal’s discretion.”

But the board does have strict rules against intoxication. “We have a zero tolerance policy for substance use and abuse of any kind on school property,” Merrifield said. “That would include drugs, alcohol, tobacco.”

Crozier said concerns about intoxicated students were brought to his attention on activity day. “Nobody was at the point you could easily tell if someone was intoxicated,” he said. “One thing is, if it was determined a student was intoxicated, they would be suspended from school. It wouldn’t be a question of attending activity day, it would be a question of when they would come back to school.”

The trouble is, identifying drunkenness is not always easy. “Without a breathalyzer it’s hard to determine,” Crozier said. The RCMP have breathalyzer equipment though, and Crozier has considered having the liaison officer present at the school’s first dance of the year on Sept. 12.

“I think just the presence is appreciated,” Crozier said. “Because when dances take place they’re after school hours, there’s a large chunk of time there where they’re unsupervised by us, and I think having a liaison officer could help that situation.”

Merrifield said GYRD schools have “fabulous” relationships with liaison officers. “They meet with staff, principals and students as required,” she said, adding that it’s not unusual for an officer to be invited to extra-curricular activities such as dances. “We do have a fully open door policy.”

She also said the number of instances in which students are found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol at schools in the GYRD is low. “I would say very rare,” Merrifield said. “The vast majority of students are kind, respectful individuals.”

Crozier agreed. “On our activity day I’ve never seen such spirit as I see at Jasper high school, with the exception of some students who weren’t following directions,” he said. “Every single student was dressed up in costume, it looked like Halloween.”

“That kind of school spirit is what’s exciting for a school, it’s what makes school a fun place to be.”