FEWER FIGHTS, BUT POT USE RISES

Utah Students' Alcohol Consumption Also Up

Incidents of school violence across the country are down by about
half from a decade ago, but have held steady since 2000, and Utah
mirrors the trends.

However, student alcohol consumption and on-campus marijuana use have
been rising in the state since 2000, according to a government report
released Sunday.

The study, conducted by the U.S. Departments of Justice and
Education, looked at 2003 data from across the nation to assess
violence and drug use in schools.

It considered crimes against the 26.4 million students who were 12 to
18 in 2003.

Utah ranks lower than the national averages in areas ranging from
weapons-related injuries to alcohol consumption, and the state had
about as many violent acts committed in 2003 as in the previous four years.

Fewer students are bringing weapons to school, going from 8.3 percent
in 2001 to 5.6 percent of the student population in 2003. However,
about the same percentage of students are being injured or threatened
with them. The number declined just slightly from 7.8 percent in 2001
to 7.3 percent in 2003.

The report does not attempt to explain reasons for the variations.
Granite High School Principal Stephen Hess said any number of factors
can explain them.

At Granite High, fights increased in 2003 because it was the year the
school incorporated ninth-graders for the first time.

"It upset our juniors and seniors to have two new classes coming in,
but now they've accepted them as part of the school," Hess said,
adding that weapons were rarely used in the altercations.

He said that in the eight years he has presided over Granite, he has
seen the number of school fights decline steadily.

While the national report shows that more Utah students are smoking
marijuana on campus, with the number increasing from 2.6 percent to
3.7 percent, the off-campus numbers are higher, with usage rising
from 9.7 percent in 2001 to 11.4 percent in 2005. That makes sense to
Hess, who said most students are busted off-campus.

"We've put enough pressure on them to keep students from smoking on
campus," he said.

Utah is outpacing the nation in the number of students drinking
alcohol off-campus, with Utah growing at about 3 percent and the
nation dropping by about 2 percent. But, the state still has about
half as many students drinking, with 21.3 percent of Utah students
having taken a drink in the 30 days previous to the survey and the
nation having 44.9 percent.

However, a Utah-based study reports that about half as many Utah
students are drinking as the national report says, and it reports
that off-campus marijuana use is steady at about 5 percent.

Brenda Ahlemann, a research consultant for the Utah Division of
Substance Abuse and Mental Health, said the numbers may be off
because the national report uses a statewide sample that is
significantly smaller than the 60,000 children the state surveys in
all but Juab and Sevier counties.

Ahlemann knows a certain number of students will use alcohol and
illicit drugs, but she says the state focuses on maintaining low
numbers with programs such as Prevention Dimensions.

"Our rates tend to be very stable. We are always significantly lower
than the rest of the country, and we are focused on keeping it that
way," she said. Report highlights

l During the 2002 school year, there were 17 homicides and five
suicides of school-age children at school.

l There were an estimated annual 119,000 thefts from teachers and
65,000 violent offenses against teachers at school, which is a per
capita rate of 25 thefts and 14 violent crimes per 1,000 teachers.
High school teachers were the most vulnerable to violence at school.

l About one in eight students (12 percent) reported that someone had
used hate-related words against them at school.

l Approximately 5 percent of students reported in 2003 that they had
either skipped school or avoided specific places at school because
they were afraid, which was a lower percentage than in recent years.

l During 2003, 21 percent of public and private students said street
gangs were present at their schools. Urban students were more likely
than their suburban or rural peers to report the presence of gangs in
their schools in 2003 (31 percent vs. 18 percent and 12 percent respectively).

l In 2003, 29 percent of students in public and private schools
reported someone had offered, sold or given them illegal drugs on
school property in the 12 months prior to the survey.

l Seven percent of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied at
school during the past six months. Public school students were more
likely to report being bullied than private school students (7
percent compared with 5 percent).

Source: Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2005