As many students know, vaping has become an epidemic in the world today. The majority of PHS students have experienced walking into the restrooms just to find a group of people or a person vaping. This can be extremely awkward.
Senior Lille Amies expressed her thoughts about this issue, “It makes me uncomfortable, and disappointed for society.”
In the student handbook, all PHS students signed, it states how it is against policy to vape and carry a vape on campus. This means, that if students are breaking this policy, certain disciplinary action will take place. The real question is: Do students care about breaking school policy?
Jason Johnson (one of the security on campus) is in charge of enforcing the school’s policy. He witnesses students vaping nearly every week, usually in the bathrooms. Jason believes the students’ issues with vaping can stem from multiple reasons one example being peer pressure by other students.
When discussing preventing the issue Jason says: “ I think education, talking about my own child who’s now an adult, I told him I wanted a 500-word essay on it. And they give us classes and I know that a vape cartridge is six times more cancerous than cigarettes. Then if you ask a kid how come your not smoking cigarettes? “Well, they cause cancer” But I just think well look what you smoking that’s like six packs of cigarettes right there.”
So, what should the school be doing to stop this issue? Education. Simply spreading the word that vaping isn’t trendy or popular. PHS students should all be doing their part to spread the message. Do students want to be known as the school where students vape in the bathroom?
