Tobacco Documents Online

NEWSDAY Long Island, New York November 14, 1960 Schools Duck Issues With OK ; on Smoking By Arnold Brophy Newsday Education Writer In a few Long Is]and high schools, seniors and juniors are allowed to smoke. Some high schoo]s provide -,moking sections in their cafeterias, some have special smoking areas set aside outdoors and still others permit students of a disastrous school fire caused by a careless . smoker. School allows its students to smoke in one section Fortunately, most of Nassau and Suffolk's high schools ` of the cafeteria during lunch periods. Ruel E.•Tucker, follow the traditional approach to the disturbing smoking '_ the principal, reports that there is practically no illegal problem. By far, the majority of schools prohibit student sneak smoking in the washrooms. smoking am. if a youngster is found sneaking a cigaret Oliver W. Melchior, superintendent of the Garden in a washroom, he is promptly suspended and not rein- City Schools, said: '\Ve' let our students smoke in a stated until his parents are forced to visit the school for smoking area outside during lunch periods and before a talk with the prlncipal. and, after school. The youngsters are going to smoke Most educators feel that this is the Only sensible anyhow. We don't want smoking in the school building. way to handle the problem even though it is not a It's a hard thing to control, especially in communities to smoke in the parking lots or on the school grounds. Arnold Brophy All of these schools believe that it is better to have the youngsters do their smoking openly whcre it can be controlled rather than have them try to hide it, since many are going to smoke regardless of whether they are told that they rnust not sinoke in or around the school. By adopting a permissive smoking' policy, these schools are ducking the very real moral question of whether smoking is good or bad for teenagers.. These schools are also evading - the' equally as real medical question posed by smoking, despite' what appears to be ovenvhe]ming statistical evideace in- dicating that 10 times as many smokers as nonsmokers die of lung cancer. Instead of facing these questions and doing something' about them as they should, a handful of high schools are taking the easy way out. They are just ignoring them, stressing, instead, two other issues: Some teenagers will smoke in school regardless of any antismoking regula- tions and by permitting smoking, there is less likelihood perfect solution. A certain amount of sneak smoking continues in these schools and it probably always will, just as there will alwavs be a few motorists who consistently go through red lights. \Vhether smoking is sinful, as some say, has to be decided by each individual and his family. If it is, there are an awful lot of us who are sinners. But since so many people' do feel quite strongly that those of us who do smoke are acting improperly, it seems to be reasonable to expect the high schools to at least consider the moral aspect of the smoking problem so that the impressionable teenagers can be exposed to all the pros and cons. Several educators believe that while the medical ques- tion is also one that'ultimately has to be answered by the individual, the schools do have the responsibility of pre- senting as much information as possible to the students so they can make up their minds. '1'hev also feel that the schools should do all that is possible to discourage student smoking. Because some students are going to smoke regard- less of regulations, Great Neck's South Senior Iligh where the children are given a certain amount of latitude in personal behavior. If you clamp down on them com- pletely, you are just running into considerable opposition in the community and in many cases the parent won't ba:.k you up." The firm, sound no-smoking policies expressed by such officials as Levittown's Superintendent b'red M. Ambellan and others, make more sense. Amhellan, who is also the chairman of the Nassau County School Ilealth Council, said: "The fact that students might smoke out of school anyhow, and a few might try it in school, isn't sufficient reason for us to lend encouragement in any way to the smoking practice within our school buildings." Another superintendent of schools, taking sharp issue with the Garden City-Great Neck-Manhasset point of view, said those districts, and the others that allow smok- ing in schools, should lead instead of being led by the parents of their students. "The over-all issue is one of discipline, morals and health. By not taking a strong posi- tion and sticking to it, those schools are failing their communities." Ile's right, too.