With vaping in school becoming more and more popular, the consequences are quickly becoming harsher. If caught with a vape by a teacher or administrator, the rules have now changed.
If or when a student is caught vaping, whether it be in a classroom, bathroom or on school property, students will no longer be getting away with a warning. The penalty is now that the student will be suspended from school for three days, suspended for 25 percent of their sports season and a $100 fine. A student having a vape in school is now viewed the same as a student bringing drugs or alcohol onto school property with the same punishments.
“I’ve now asked for provision for the rest of the year to amend the student handbook so that we can put vaping in as drug and alcohol possession. I can now suspend on the first offense, when in the past it was on the third offense. We don’t need probable cause to search students, we need reasonable suspicion. Another thing most students don’t understand is that as soon as you walk into school, you don’t have any rights. You have the right to an education, that’s it,” says school Principal Timothy Ruggere.
“I think most students are at the age where they know the impacts vaping has on their body, and if they decide to continue with it then that’s their decision. But, I understand the issues with vaping in school. It’s not the time or the place for it. What students do on their own time is their choice, but in school we are all under the supervision of the administrators and are their responsibility so when taking the risk of vaping on school property, that is another decision teenagers make for themselves, whether it be a smart decision or not,” says Junior Onica Mooney.
“My concern with vaping is the health aspects of it, not just right now but the long term effects. I’m concerned that students who are vaping aren’t fully aware, in many cases, what exactly their ingesting into their body. There’s chemicals in vapes and how the chemicals are impacting students bodies is my main concern as well as bringing these things into school which is not acceptable,” says Brendan Stokes.