Straight Edge Students Counter Temptation, Peer Pressure
WaltWhitman.edu (usa, 1999)

Everyone does it. Or do they? Although the Montgomery County police ranks Whitman as one of the county's three most represented schools at drinking parties, not all students have succumbed to the temptations of drugs and alcohol.
Students usually refer to people who don't drink or do drugs as "straight edge."

"Technically, straight edge means poison-free," junior Peter McTernan says, but few students use the term in this sense.

Straight edge students have a variety of reasons for choosing not to use drugs and alcohol. Experiences in some students' own lives may have affected them. Others may simply not have any desire to experiment with these substances.

Junior Mike Valentine is straight edge because he has seen firsthand the effects of drugs and alcohol. "My sister is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict and I know it would run in the family," Valentine says. "I even try to convince my friends not to drink by having them talk to my sister, and that has worked sometimes."

McTernan did not have any difficulty in his decision to be straight edge because his family has strict values against alcohol and drugs. "My two older brothers have been straight edge for over 10 years, and I was brought up this way," McTernan says.

Valentine's and McTernan's decisions not to use drugs and alcohol represent common reasons why students choose not to experiment with illegal substances. "Teenagers who choose not to drink have usually seen people plagued by addiction or have strong ties within the family that discourage alcohol use," says adolescent case manager Mike Green at the Oakview Treatment Center for Alcohol and Drug Addiction says.

For any students who want to actively help their friends stay away from alcohol and drugs, Green offers this advice: "The best way to convince peers that drinking is not a good choice is to identify how foolishly they act when they're drunk, and to point out the way alcohol has had a negative effect on their attitude, behavior and beliefs."

Green also points out that if a well-liked student refrains from drinking, he shows others that popularity does not require partying. "The only way that non-drinking teenagers can have a positive affect on teens who drink is if the non-drinkers are successful. But success has a different meaning for teens than for adults; in high school it's more about popularity and respect," Green says.

To warn students of the consequences of substance abuse, Valentine's sister volunteered to share her experiences with drugs and alcohol in Whitman's health classes. Junior Todd Mills had a strong reaction to a video of her accounts. "It was alarming to see her struggles and to realize how drugs can tear apart your life," Mills says.

Straight edge students often avoid temptations of alcohol and drugs by surrounding themselves with people who do not drink. "I don't associate with that crowd, and I rarely hear about parties where there has been drinking," Falken says.

Although some students are surrounded by people who are not straight edge, they do not submit to the temptations. Junior Hannah Foster goes to parties where people are drinking, but avoids using any drugs or alcohol. "I'm always the designated driver, and I make sure my friends get home safely," Foster says.

Like Foster, Valentine says he associates with people who "party", but does not let this interfere with their friendship. "They can go to parties, and I'll just hang out with them another time," Valentine says.