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WSS 'kidnapping' parties endanger grads: Principal, RCMP

2013 grads say they have taken steps this year to make celebrations safer
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Whistler Secondary School principal Bev Oakley has sent a letter to the parents of the graduating class outlining her concerns about the tradition of "grad kidnapping" parties. During these parties Grade 12s are taken by classmates to private homes and historically there has been binge drinking.

"We have already had a couple of near misses, and we feel that it is just a matter of time before a grad is severely injured or killed," wrote Oakley, who co-authored the letter with vice-principal Stuart Bent, referring to experiences with kidnapping parties of past graduating classes.

Oakley hopes getting the issue out in the open could deter situations that could be dangerous for youth. She is also concerned that students are in no state to learn the day after the weeknight kidnapping parties take place.

"Our second concern is that students come to school NOT prepared or even able to learn," she states in the letter. "Their presence in classes is negative. They sleep, which is the least bad thing. They often can't control their behaviour, causing disruptions to the class and their teachers. This purposeful disregard for the learning environment is not consistent with the values of our school. Learning is supposed to be the priority; fun should support learning, not disrupt it."

The school will contact parents of students who come to class unable to learn due to partying and ask them to take their kids home. Students may also face suspension.

The students in this year's graduating class are upset at the principal's letter and say they have taken steps to make sure the "kidnappings" are fun and safe.

In a joint letter by the class to Oakley they state: "The Graduating Class of 2013 was shocked at the accusations about what happened on the night of grad kidnapping. The main reason behind our surprise and frustration was because no one bothered to talk to us before releasing these false allegations. In the (principal's) letter it states: 'WSS in conjunction with WCSS and the RCMP is concerned about the changes in the grad kidnappings.' The only 'changes' in the grad kidnapping were changes for the better."

These changes, said the students, included plans to make sure that that no one was drinking and driving, force-fed alcohol or "bound and tossed into the back of a vehicle," and anyone wanting to leave the party could. Parents, they added, were aware of what was going on.

"The Grad Class of 2013 strongly believes that this has been blown way out of proportion."

In her response to the grad class, Oakley pointed out that parties on school nights were in fact brought up at the first grad committee meeting.

Morgan McGaw, a WSS student who is on the school's grad committee, went to the only "kidnapping" party this fall, where the girls were charged with "kidnapping" the boys. They were taken to a home where the owner was present in the attached suite she said, and "40-something" teens took part.

"...We didn't stampede the house or force (the boys we kidnapped) to come... we didn't throw them in the trunk or tie them up... I didn't hear anything about anyone feeling unsafe... We're really safe grads, and we've learnt from other years before us. They've done the same traditions and sometimes it has gotten out of hand, so we learned what to do and what not to do."

In an interview, Oakley said of the kidnapping parties: "It scares us. This year, the day after the first grad kidnapping... we did happen to notice that there had been quite a change in the comportment of the students when they came to school the next day, those who did come to school.

"It never used to be binge drinking parties. It was more a fun activity; there wasn't this huge drinking component to it. But this year, in the last few years, it has suddenly become a big party night."

Jackie Dickinson, drug and alcohol coordinator for Whistler Community Services Society, spoke at a parent education meeting on Oct. 18 when the kidnapping parties were brought up by parents, as well as parties at other grade levels where minors were binge drinking alcohol.

"This grad kidnapping conversation came up... we shed light on the concerns that we think the community has around this tradition," said Dickinson. "We want to honour grads having traditions and celebrating as a class, but... we want to see how we can make it healthier and safer.

"The younger kids start, the more likely it is that they will develop an addiction. They're not going to be going to parties and having one drink, there is a binge-like behaviour happening... and that can be hugely dangerous in developing bodies," she said.

Oakley's letter came up at the Oct. 25 Parent Advisory Council meeting. This led to a related, but separate, discussion about the use of alcohol by youth even at the Grade 8 and 9 level.

According to the most recent statistics by the McCreary Centre Society, which tracks adolescent behaviour in the North Shore/Coast/Garibaldi region, drug and alcohol use is slightly higher than provincial averages — 60 per cent of youth had tried more than just a few sips of alcohol. This was higher than the provincial rate of 54 per cent and almost half (48 per cent) of local students had engaged in binge drinking in the month prior to the survey, defined in the study as five or more drinks within a couple of hours. Thirty-one per cent in this region drank alcohol the previous Saturday, more than the provincial rate of 26 per cent.

Tara Merrie, Whistler RCMP's community liaison office also took part in the parent education night. She said it appeared that little thought is going into the fact that minors are drinking alcohol, which is an issue of importance to the RCMP. Parents are hosting parties where an underage teen might drink too much and suffer alcohol poisoning, or worse, might end up in trouble with the police themselves.

While parents may give liquor to their own children in the privacy of their own home they cannot serve it to other minors. Doing so can result in a charge and a $500 fine. The guardian may also be held legally responsible for any damages or injury caused as a result.

While adults cannot be charged with anything for driving drunk minors home, they could be held liable if that minor, once home, vomited in his or her sleep and choked to death or was injured.

Said Merrie: "The questions we should be asking ourselves as parents, community members and as a society as a whole are; Why are our children drinking? Why is this behaviour socially acceptable?"