SCHOOLS HOPE STUDENTS LEARN FROM PROM-NIGHT TRAGEDY

Officials Say Ecstasy-Related Death Of A Tustin Student May Deter
Newport-Mesa Teens From From Using The Drug.

NEWPORT-MESA -- Try to ride a bicycle backward and up a hill -- that's how
futile parents sometimes feel their efforts are in warning their children
about the perils of doing drugs.

Sometimes, though, a tragedy can pierce the constant drone of admonitions
and crystallize the message more clearly than any adult can.

That's what some in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District are hoping
will result from the death Tuesday of a Tustin high school student who fell
into a coma after mixing Ecstasy and alcohol after her senior prom. "It
takes a tragedy to wake up kids . . . to the reality that there are just
some dangerous substances out there that kids think they're immune from,"
trustee Wendy Leece said. "They think they're indestructible."

Corona del Mar High School Principal Sharon Fry was so upset by Cathy
Isford's death that she fired off a letter to parents and students on
Wednesday that she will send out before the prom. The letter references the
events leading to Isford's death and encourages students to watch out for
each other.

"I don't want to be a broken record, but I want one person in each group to
have the fortitude to say, 'Don't do that,"' Fry said. "If we could get
that, I think we could breathe a sigh of relief."

Ecstasy is a popular drug, particularly at rave dance parties. Students and
young adults continue to use it in increasingly higher doses, according to
a 2000 survey by Monitoring the Future.

The drug is a stimulant and hallucinogen that induces a high that can last
up to six hours. It can also create major changes in heart rate and blood
pressure, as well as lead to dehydration.

Isford, the Foothill High School senior, told family members she would take
Ecstasy the night of her prom to make the evening more special. Although
they cautioned her to be careful, she mixed two pills with wine, beer and
rum at a post-prom party. Later that morning, she collapsed, fell into a
coma and was taken off life support Tuesday after being declared brain-dead.

Three of the four main district high schools will have their proms June 1.
Although the district invests much effort into drug prevention, some
students say Ecstasy is not mentioned as much as marijuana and cocaine.

Some teens also say that Ecstasy is not considered to be as harmful as
heroin and cocaine.

"It's just like, 'Oh, it's a party drug,"' said Partha Patel, 17, a senior
at Middle College High School. "It makes them feel free."

It's that nonchalant attitude that often prevents others from making a big
deal out of someone taking Ecstasy or even trying to stop them, some
students said.

Mila Gukaylo, 17, also a senior at Middle College High School, said it's
important for teens to know their own limits and to have friends who will
protect them.

"There should be people that are close enough to you that can see there's a
problem," Mila said. "[Isford's] friends should not have let her do so much
stuff together."