HANAMA‘ULU — The state Department of Education winter break starts next week, and DOE Kaua‘i Area Complex Superintendent William Arakaki said the DOE wants students and parents to be safe during the break. “There are many threats out there facing
HANAMA‘ULU — The state Department of Education winter break starts next week, and DOE Kaua‘i Area Complex Superintendent William Arakaki said the DOE wants students and parents to be safe during the break.
“There are many threats out there facing young people today,” Arakaki said. “The parents have been asking for resources in trying to cope with these problems.”
That resulted in the DOE collaborating with various community agencies to host three ‘Ohana Winter Safe and Fun Night events, the last one being held Wednesday evening at the King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School cafeteria.
During the gatherings that started Dec. 1 at the Waimea Canyon Middle School cafeteria and moved to the Kapa‘a Elementary School cafeteria Tuesday night, ending at King Kaumuali‘i Elementary in Hanama‘ulu Wednesday, parents had a wide range of resource agencies to discuss social problems with as well as some agencies which were more community-specific.
Nana’s House was one of the Westside-specific agencies at the Waimea event, while the Boys & Girls Club Kapa‘a clubhouse was at the Kapa‘a event, and will be offering a Christmas ‘Ohana Night Dec. 16 to launch its winter-break program that runs from Dec. 20 to Jan. 4.
Arakaki said Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. shares his same concern for the safety of the young people, because everyone is impacted.
Two of the leading social problems facing the young people are underage drinking and cyberbullying, and based on the response of the audiences at the events, parents and students had a keen interest as they listened intently to presentations and visited the exhibits hosted by the Office of the Mayor’s Anti-Drug agency and the Kaua‘i Police Department.
Gayle Konishi, the Parent Community Networking Center coordinator from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, said KPD officer Barry Deblake spoke to the school and, during his presentation, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Deblake said parents should be aware of what their children are doing on both their cell phones and computers.
“This is a prevalent problem,” Arakaki said. “In Hawai‘i, one out of four students are harassed by cell phones, and one out of five students get harassed by computers.”
Deblake said cyberbullying is the leading cause of suicides among young people. He said during the winter break, chances of cyberbullying increase as students congregate.
Another related social problem that has surfaced is sexting, where young people take nude pictures of themselves and post it on the Internet.
“They don’t realize that this is for the whole world to see,” Deblake said.
Consequences for these crimes are also severe, and in some cases, affect the parents of the person committing the crime.
“How would you feel if you left for work owning your own home, but by the time you came home, that house now belongs to us?” Deblake said.
“If we get a call on one of these crimes being committed, the parents are liable because they bought the cell phone for the young person. Additionally, if a computer is used, KPD obtains a warrant from a judge and the whole house is searched, which may result in the house being seized,” said Deblake.
The young people, regardless of age, get charged with child pornography, and so do the parents if they bought the phone being used.
“That charge stays with you for life,” Deblake said. “It doesn’t go away.”
Recently, the appearance of caffeinated alcoholic beverages has piqued the interest of parents.
“It’s a heart attack in a can,” said Celeste Inanod of the Mayor’s Anti-Drug office at the Kapa‘a event.
“Plus the manufacturers of the drinks market to young people by having an attractive price tag and appealing colors and designs.”
Inanod said one of the drinks having the equivalent of five cans of beer and three cups of large coffees sells for just $3, making it affordable for young people. How much is a six-pack of beer?
On Nov. 17, the federal Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to four companies that make caffeinated alcoholic beverages, states an FDA Consumer Health Information handout.
The manufacturers of these products have failed to show that the direct addition of caffeine to their malt beverages is “generally recognized as safe” by qualified experts.
Rather, there is evidence that the combinations of caffeine and alcohol in these products pose a public-health concern, the release states.
The FDA has given the firms 15 days to respond to the warning letters and, then, may proceed to court to stop sales.
Brenda Jose, also of the Anti-Drug Office, said on the Westside, Ishihara Market learned of the FDA notice and voluntarily pulled such drinks off shelves after confirming the release by a phone call to the FDA.
Police officers claim the drink is still being sold at various locations around the island, and encourage parents to be more aware of what their children are doing.
Jose said there has been talk of aerosol whipped cream with alcohol infused into it in the marketplace.
“We are lucky because it’s not available in Hawai‘i yet,” she said. “But you can get it over the Internet, which is reason for parents to be concerned.”
Police officers said the combination of the aerosol gas and alcohol in the whipped cream can be deadly, but young people continue to “get whipped.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
