Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Braselton News
Page 5A
Other V ie ws
Teens abusing alcohol
Dear Editor:
I am writing to address the
problem with excessive alcohol
abuse in teenagers today. When
asked if they drink, at least nine
out of 10 students will say yes,
which I find to be a huge problem
not only because it is illegal for
teens under 21 to drink alcohol,
but also because the effects of
drinking put more and more inno
cent people at risk every day.
Current statistics already show
that the leading cause of teenage
death is driving accidents and
drinking only increases those sta
tistics because drinking impairs
the ability to make decisions. It
is common for students to think
it’s okay to drive under the influ
ence of alcohol and that, in turn,
increases the number of car acci
dents.
Driving isn’t the only problem
with underage students drinking.
Kids are commonly arrested for
public alcohol abuse, sometimes
even if they aren’t under age.
There are countless numbers of
scenarios that endanger the lives
of students as a result of alcohol,
such as alcohol poisoning, date
rape, pregnancy and the danger of
becoming an alcoholic.
Many of the problems stated
above can be fixed by simply
cracking down on checking IDs,
weeding out false identities and
making parents aware of the fact
that their child is just as likely
to be involved in teen alcohol
abuse as anyone else. Too many
parents today assume that their
children are picture perfect and
would never do anything wrong,
trust them too much and are often
afraid of the truth so they simply
avoid it which is a very big mis
take. Teenage kids aren’t sense
less and they are going to do all
they can to make sure that mom
and dad don’t find out that they
are abusing alcohol and other
drugs in some cases. Parents need
to face the reality of today and
question their children, Don’t
assume everything is perfect and
don’t have too much trust.
Just a few small changes and
the amount of underage drinking
would be drastically decreased,
saving the lives of all the inno
cent people that are killed every
year as a result of teens under the
influence of alcohol.
Sincerely,
Evan Hornaday
Buford
School hours should change
Dear Editor:
The school time to get up is
7:23 a.m. I think that we should
get to sleep more so that we can
make better grades in class. The
middle school time is 9:20 a.m.
We should switch times with them.
They don’t take grades as serious
in middle school. Teachers will
pass you if you’re close to passing
also. High school is more stressful
Gas prices too high
Dear Editor:
I think that gas prices are too
high for the price of oil. I under
stand that they have to fluctuate
with the oil prices but I think
that some gas stations are tak
ing advantage of the customer
by over charging. Most people
don’t know the price of oil so it
would be very easy to do that.
There should be an estimated
guess of what gas prices will
Supports hybrid vehicles
Dear Editor:
Our communities have a con
stant growth in needs by the day.
Also, as our technology becomes
more advanced, we are given
other ways to more efficiently
supply these desires and needs.
One of the technological
advancements that can help us is
the advancement in energy-effi
cient cars. Without a doubt, ener
gy efficiency (i.e. fuel efficiency)
is already becoming more and
more of an issue. Clearly, when
you look at the average prices for
fuel, you will see that inflation,
combined with, war and a grow
ing demand for fuel, has had a
serious impact on the way we can
spend our money. Such places
Recreation centers needed
and is a lot harder to do. If they let
us sleep more, I’m sure that the
grades would go up and students
wouldn’t fall asleep so much in
class.
In conclusion, I think that high
school starts to early. I believe
grades would be much better if we
got to sleep in later.
Sincerely.
Keith Christiansen
be based on the price of oil. A
new estimate should be made
every month and gas stations
should be fined if they exceed
that estimate. Fines would vary
based on how far over the esti
mate the price is. This would not
only make the system fair, but it
would help a lot of people save
money.
Sincerely,
Jordan Dunbar
are for movies, going out, shop
ping for clothes, buying houses,
and much more.
A better alternative to these
problems is buying hybrid cars,
which need less fuel to go the
same distance and less on your
wallets as well. Obviously, you
can then turn around and buy
more important things with that
money, while helping lower the
prices of fuel for everyone.
As a result, our community
needs to support hybrid cars
in favor of those gas guzzling
trucks and Suv’s, simply because
it is for your benefit and every
one else’s!
Sincerely,
George
Dear Editor:
Some teenagers sit inside the
house and have nothing to do. It
would be very nice if there were
recreation centers, such as YMCA
and Boys and Girls Club. This
would be so much better than
becoming overweight.
Socializing is a major step in
a teen’s life, also with children.
Instead of building more houses,
they should build a free com
munity parks with inside pools,
basketball courts and other activi
ties.
Becoming overweight at a
young age is a major problem in
the world, so creating recreation
centers and parks is a step for
ward in solving this problem.
Sincerely,
Niquel Reid
Opposes saggy pants
Dear Editor:
I believe the saggy pants issue
in Atlanta is an extreme prob
lem. Men should not be walk
ing around the streets with their
pants down at their knees. On the
same hand, women’s undergar
ments should not purposely be
showing. It is inappropriate and
unnecessary.
Dressing in an inappropriate
manner sets a negative example
for younger children. Kids will
begin to dress with undergarments
showing and they will believe it is
appropriate. This could eventu
ally lead to dress code violations
at school.
Baggy pants have a part in ille
gal behavior. People with saggy
clothing are typically hiding ille
gal objects. Having baggy pants
hides the bulge from illegal drugs
or weapons.
I strongly suggest the “saggy
pants law” be passed. It will set
a better example for the future
adults of America. It could poten
tially prevent illegal behavior in
the city of Atlanta.
Sincerely,
Megan Micheletti
“Sagging” law unnecessary
Dear Editor:
I’m writing today about the new
law that is in the process of being
passed, “Sagging.” “Sagging” is
wearing your pants two or more
inches below the waist. I feel as
though if you or your parents spent
how much ever money on the
jeans you are wearing then nobody
but your parents can tell you how
to wear your pants. If you choose
to go out into the public with the
waist line of your jeans around
your knees then, hey, every one
has their own sense of fashion.
The sagging trend has been
going on now for as long as I can
remember, so why all of a sud
den is it becoming such a big deal
where you have to make a law
for it. I’m guessing that the main
reason for the making of the law
is that people don’t wanna see oth
ers underwear, boxers and what
ever else you wear under your
pants. My best advice for that is
just don’t look. If seeing someone
else’s underwear really makes you
that sick to the stomach, then why
are you looking?
I don’t like to see other people’s
feet and I’m pretty sure it’s others
out there that think the same but I
don’t see a law in the making say
ing that a person shouldn’t wear
flip-flops if they are not covering
up your toes. Another example
would be females and the length
of their skirts. There is no law in
the making saying that females
have to wear their skirts a certain
length. Some people might not
have money to buy belts or pants
that fit them or some people just
want to go along with what every
body else is doing.
It’s not fair to the people who
really can’t afford it getting in
trouble for the people who are fol
lowing the trend. I’m a so called
“Sagger” myself but not to the
point where it looks like I have no
home training, and to be honest
out of all the discussions I have
heard on sagging your pants I have
not heard a good enough reason
for this to become a law. Really to
me whichever way you look at the
situation it’s nonsense. There are
more worse crimes going on in the
streets for cops to be on the look
out for than looking for someone
whose pants are not two inches
from the waist.
Sincerely,
Shane Sisco
DUI a big issue for teens
Dear Editor:
Drinking and driving is a big
issue these days. The consumption
of alcohol is a big issue these days.
A lot of teenagers have been driv
ing under the influence of alcohol.
Drinking tends to impair visions
for teens who have had only one
to two years of driving. Drinking
with alcohol can be a very bad
choice. I believe we should abol
ish the drinking age law, therefore
teens would stop drinking just to
“break the law” or “to be cool.”
Allowing teens to see what drink
ing can do to a person’s life can
teach them a lesson before they are
adults and become an alcoholic. I
believe the drinking age is unfair
because adults are irresponsible
drinkers too. More adults drink
and drive but the trick to them is
they don’t get caught. Drinking
and driving is a bad idea.
Sincerely,
Hannah Kim
SAL
Teen pregnancy is a big problem
Dear Editor:
Teen pregnancy is a big prob
lem in our community. A lot of
people say that teens shouldn’t
have sex at all, but in reality
it’s going to happen. In the past
couple of years, the teenage preg
nancy rate has increased. So, in
addition, I think that both middle
and high schools should hand out
condoms. I also think that they
should hand out information and
packets on sexual education. Sex
education courses should also be
offered in school for the stu
dents who actually want to learn
more about diseases and viruses.
I also think that there should be
more free and teenage clinics in
Gwinnett County.
Sincrerely,
Quanteisha Crenshaw
Teens need access to birth control
Dear Editor:
Our community is overrun with
teen pregnancy. I realize teenag
ers are going to have sex, but they
need to be careful. This means tak
ing the right procedures to insure
they will not get pregnant.
I believe our community needs
a free clinic. A free clinic would
allow teenagers to get birth control
or condoms. Teenagers need a way
to get these products because they
will help prevent pregnancy.
I know that abstinence is the
only way to know for sure that you
will not get pregnant, but most do
not abstain from sex. So allow
ing a way for those teenagers to
obtain birth control will help the
problem.
Sincerely,
Brittany E.
Wants to drive to school
Dear Editor:
I think that every one should
be able to drive to school, not
just seniors. Every one that has
their license and a car should be
able to drive to school. Instead of
buying laptops and golf carts, the
school should focus its funding
on building more student park
ing lots instead on things that
the school doesn’t need. I am not
the only student who wants this.
There are many other student
that want to drive to school but
can’t because they can’t get a
parking pass. More student park
ing lots should be a priority for
Mill Creek.
Sincerely,
Chad Atkinson
Opposes water ban
Dear Editor:
I think the water ban is stupid
because we pay for our own water
and we should be able to use it
how ever we want. That is why
we are taught responsibility from
a little age. If I pay $75 dollars a
month, I should be able to clean
my car water and water my grass.
But if they want to restrict that
from me, we shouldn’t have any
more water bills.
Sincerely,
Alexander Mantyka
Growth needs to be controlled
Dear Editor:
I think most of the problems that
we have here in Gwinnett is the
landscape and environment around
us. There is a lot of property that
is being taken by building more
houses or other businesses that we
don’t need, or just taking up space.
The population is expanding way
to fast for our county.
With this being said, people’s
lives are being changed and they
are having to make changes and
losing things they need.
One problem that too much
building is causing is the use of
water. We need water to live and
this use of land that the govern
ment is using to build on is caus
ing droughts.
Instead of building, they could
find some other way to get more
water. There are lots of people
complaining that they don’t have
water to drink, or to water their
plants. This is causing droughts all
over the state and the landscapes
are involving problems with using
our water.
Another problem is more traf
fic and pollution. The population
is increasing everyday and that
leaves more pollution for us to
breathe. The more cars there are,
the more bad air.
The traffic is terrible; we have to
widen the roads, which mean more
taxes on us and getting money out
of our pockets. They are building
schools that are three miles apart
for more people to come into and
that causes more traffic for parents
who have to work in the morning.
The schools have to deal with
more taxes and the government
has to deal with all of this because
they are letting the landscape get
away. The habitat is losing homes
too. The trees are getting knocked
down and that is a loss of air too.
So hopefully this will shape up our
environment and people will think
about what is going out in the real
world.
Thank you for your time and
reading this about our issues.
Sincerely,
K.B.M
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