<i> My Turn</i> : There’s Danger in Following the Crowd

Lemmings have overrun the campuses of high schools around the country, virtually infesting them. No effort, however, has been made to exterminate these rodents from our schools.

Why? because these lemmings make up a good portion of the student body.

“Lemmings?” you might ask. “What in the world are lemmings?” For those of you unfamiliar with this creature (i.e., not avid viewers of PBS), a lemming is a small brown rodent, most common in Scandinavia. Now, you are probably wondering, “So what does this have to do with students in high school?”

Well, lemmings have this reputation for mindlessly running in herds--sometimes going so far as jumping off cliffs into the ocean and drowning.

I know what you are thinking now, something along the lines of “What is she talking about?”

Let me explain.

Many students have irrational tendencies. No, not to hurl themselves off of cliffs, but irrational just the same. They, just like the lemmings, act simply because “everyone else is doing it.” They don’t bother to think on their own. Rather, these students, these lemmings, opt to blindly follow whatever their peers are doing, regardless of the consequences of their actions, regardless of whether it is right or wrong.

This peculiar species can be spotted roaming the halls of high schools across the nation, wearing the same “cool” uniform as its fellow herdmates, and doing only those activities previously approved by the rest of the herd--like drinking, smoking or tagging.

Will this infestation ever end? I honestly don’t know, but as for me, I don’t plan to get caught near the cliffs anytime soon.