Students attending this years homecoming at Green High first had to take a breathalizer test before being allowed to enter. This was done as a result of a suggestion by principal Joe Nicklos and members of the student body.
"When I was at North Royalton we did this and it worked well," said Nicklos. “In addition the president and vice-president of student council approached me about it and we decided to implement it. Letters were sent home to parents informing them about what we were planning to do and the students were told about the procedure. The overall response was very positive."
Desiree Aber and Thomas Davison were the president and vice-president of Student council who approached Nicklos about this.
"In the past there was always a rumor that this was going to be done, just to scare the students," said Desiree, " but we thought it should actually be done. So we brought it up to Mr. Nicklos and student council backed it."
"Most of the students were OK with the idea," observed Thomas, "and it was to help protect them. A few didn't come because of it, but the total attendance was almost exactly what it has been the last couple of years."
"And we got lots of compliments on the dance, the decorations and the DJ, said both Desiree and Thomas." Most of the students thought it was the best Homecoming they had attended."
Junior Kailey Diver said, "It was not as bad as I thought it would be, they really made us feel comfortable with it. I think it was a good thing to have."
Julia Ciccolini thought it was a good idea. “It was needed. And it didn't take much time either.”
When the students arrived at the dance, there were four lines they could go through to take the simple test.
"It only took a few seconds," said Nicklos, "and they actually waited longer to hand over their ticket and get admitted than it took to take the test. And no one tested positive for alcohol."
"It was a good idea," said Jordan Williams. "It prevented students from drinking before the dance."
"It held people accountable for what they did," said Kyle Majnaric. "I think it was a good idea."
"The test served its purpose, " observed Ryan Robinson. "I'm glad they finally did it. It helped prevent the kids from misbehaving."
"I thought it was a little drastic," said Amanda Baumgardner. "Usually if students are drinking at a dance it isn't a problem. But I didn't think the test was a problem."
"I thought it was a good idea," said Erica Suponcic. "You really don't need alcohol to have a good time at a dance."
Parent Sandy Perch observed, “I thought it was a little drastic but I can see the reason for it. And I would rather they error on the side of student safety, so I deferred to the school's decision."
Superintendent Wade Lucas thought it was a great idea. “In particular I liked that it was student initiated. It went well and I had only one parent who called with a concern. It is always good when an organization is willing to step up and police itself. That makes it a stronger organization. Society should take lessons from our young people."
"We will be using the breathalizers at all future dances," said Nicklos. "In fact due to the publicity we got, several other area schools have contacted us about what we did, and may implement such treats at their dances too."
In the end the Green students had a homecoming that was fun, alcohol free, and not marred by any tragedies afterwards. That's what homecoming dances are all about.
