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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 OPLE Y CARHARTT-LARGEST INVENTORY LOWEST PRICES ANYWHERE! One of Georgia’s largest Carhartt dealers. Winter clothes just arrived! 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