E-Mail sent by Principal Tutwiler

Opinion

The Senior Show is not produced for the senior class, it’s produced for an audience. However, we seniors are perhaps the people that get the most out of the production. In a recent e-mail, Mr. Tutwiler called it “one of the final unifying class events.”

It allows every student, whether born performer or first-time entertainer, the opportunity to step out of their normal self, and step into something unknown. Perhaps this is the unifying secret of Senior Show: it foreshadows another step all seniors will make into other unknowns in only a few months and gives them a taste of that thrill.

It’s an event that happens in around 12 days of rehearsal and performance, one that throws some of the norms of 12 years together out the window.

Apart from the school-sanctioned Senior Show, there is also the off-campus Senior Show after-party, generally hosted at the home of a gracious senior’s family.

Due to incidents in past years where students have overindulged in alcohol and other drugs prior to this traditional party, Principal Tutwiler has asked parents  to abstain from hosting any post-show parties, in the interest of keeping students safe.

Before I go further, I would like to be clear that this is not an argument for any illegal consumption. Decisions to consume alcohol or other illicit drugs are, of course, illegal at this age, and, more importantly, are potentially dangerous. Students have taken drug and alcohol education courses and signed both the student handbook and a Senior Show contract agreeing that they will abstain from illegal substances.

I take issue not with Mr. Tutwiler’s desire for a safe week for Wayland seniors, but rather with the lack of trust and respect his request shows them. I understand Mr. Tutwiler has legal obligations, not to mention our best interests at heart. But it is time for this administration to step back and reconsider its treatment of students.

This senior show after-party is an important part of the experience for a senior. It’s a celebration of some long, hard (albeit small number of) rehearsals, but more, a celebration of years spent together — for most students, over a decade. It is a pivotal, unifying moment for the class if they’re willing to let it be, and I believe my class desires that, just like the classes before us. We deserve that opportunity.

There are students who will not partake. There are students who will indulge in a moderate, responsible amount, whether or not it is legal or healthy. Then there are the students who will overindulge, putting themselves and others in harm’s way – or at the very least ruining what should be a fun evening for them and their friends.

Tutwiler’s request, if respected, is a punishment for some and potentially creates more danger for the group that chooses illegal consumption.

Trying to eliminate the grade-wide party will likely spawn a handful of smaller parties, likely increasing the amount of driving students do. With the grade-wide party there are always chaperones – something that smaller parties might not all have.

I’m not naive enough to think this year will be very different than years past. I’m not expecting a dramatic shift in behavior.

If a student chooses to indulge, that is a decision that student is making. Hopefully no one goes too far; hopefully everyone takes care of each other, and hopefully no one gets hurt. But these are decisions that students should make for themselves, and ones that they are going to make for themselves despite any law or request laid out by Tutwiler.

We seniors are college and future-bound. We should learn to make good decisions now. That doesn’t mean necessarily learning how to drink, but perhaps how to take care of friends and be mindful and responsible for our own situation.

I believe students consuming need to do so responsibly, but the adults in our community should not look so far ahead to their goal of eliminating dangerous underage consumption that they ignore what is right in front of them.

This is the world we live in, and change is slow. This is not the time for adults to dig their heels (or bury their heads) in the ground, because this rigidness has the potential to cause more harm than simply hosting a party. Channel your good intentions sensibly. Have a conversation with your seniors, and place trust in them this week. They will be faced with these decisions more and more in the next few months.

Students who choose to break the law and the rules know the consequences. They’ll suffer those consequences if they break either, but you shouldn’t strip them of their freedom of choice out of fear or care.

Again, I’m not suggesting anyone make bad decisions, but sometimes we learn from our mistakes. Not to mention, for us to be able to make responsible decisions, we have to be allowed to make decisions in the first place. This is why responsibility is so important — it allows us to grow. I wish this administration would recognize that.

So Wayland seniors: please make responsible choices. There are people counting on us, and we’re going to have to count on each other to make this great. Take care of yourself, take care of each other, and have a great time!

To put it in a metaphor: At some point the training wheels come off and kids bike the streets on their own, but parents should still insist their kids look both ways, check in now and then, and tell them to always wear a helmet.

See another opinion on this topic from reporter Aaron Kano-Bower.