ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Ending the Arms Race in School

Drug use and sex offenses on local school campuses have declined, while the number of assaults with weapons has jumped. This good news/bad news picture is a reassuring statement about children’s ability to deal responsibly with difficult challenges, as well as a graphic reminder of the perilous atmosphere in which today’s youngsters grow up.

According to a report released by the state Department of Education, decreases in drug use and sex offenses in Orange County were dramatic: for example, a 54% drop in substance abuse was recorded from 1985 until last year. The Los Angeles Unified School District reported that drug use declined 20% in 1988-89, and dropped 55% over the last four years. Sex offenses declined 23%.

The dip in drug abuse and in sexual offenses coincides with a broad, popular, national movement--a crusade, really--to strongly discourage irresponsible behavior related to drugs and sex. Thus, “getting high” and unrestricted sexual behavior, once deemed hip when many of today’s parents were teens, no longer win approval from today’s teens.

Now children must get this same message about guns and other weapons: that they are not acceptable means of settling disputes for adults or children and that school is never an appropriate place for weapons. Considering the body counts from drive-by-shootings and domestic violence, that message is more than a tough sell. But children have a knack for pick- ing up on what is considered important. For them to drop their weapons, they will first have to see people in the adult world devalue theirs.