Recently, vape detectors have been installed in the school bathrooms to prevent people from vaping and to catch people who are vaping. During school hours, most students are given free-access to use the bathroom at whatever time they need to, but many students abuse this privilege to go to the restroom and vape.
Vaping in the school bathrooms is a major issue as some students gather in crowds to vape together during classes and in between periods. Doing so has caused many of the school bathrooms to have a distinct and nauseating smell. Although there have been efforts to curb the amount of students vaping in the past, such as limiting the amount of people who can access the school bathrooms at a time, there has been limited direct action until now. The discussion about what direct action should be taken has been regularly discussed and has culminated in the installation of vape detectors in the school bathrooms, where most vaping takes place.
The Port Washington School District joined the many schools of Nassau county that have installed vape detectors on school grounds. Costing around $300-1,000 per unit, the district has spent a considerable amount to ensure that our school’s learning environment is safe.The use of vapes on school grounds is strictly prohibited and if caught, it will result in disciplinary action such as detention and eventually, suspension from the PWUFSD. However, the district doesn’t just want to punish students for vaping and violating the school code of conduct. The main focus is to educate students about the harmful effects of vapes, such as the long term effects like lung cancer and nicotine addiction, as well as the fact that vaping is sometimes considered a “gateway drug” that may lead to use of other drugs.
“We need them [vape detectors], 100 percent,” said junior Tai Abrams.
Plenty of other students have remained neutral to the decision because they don’t engage in vaping at all. “I don’t vape, I don’t care,” said junior Alex Galik-Kuzmiki.
Although many people consider the use of vape detectors in the school to be a positive addition, there has still been a ton of controversy surrounding their installation. Many students believe that the vape detectors won’t actually end up curbing vaping in the school bathrooms.
“I don’t think it’s going to stop them,” said junior Ethan Yeung.
The detectors are supposed to pick up the main chemicals in vapes, such as nicotine and propylene glycol. If the student were to tamper with the detector or find a way to seal the chemicals before they reach the detector, it would result in zero detection. Many people believe that if chemicals were to be detected, the school wouldn’t truly be able to detect who set off the detector because of how many people could be in the bathroom at the time.
“They’ll either break them, steal them, or take out the batteries. They’re as useless as your appendix,” said junior Aaron Hernadez.
Despite these doubts, many students have found the bathrooms less repulsive as the smell from vapes has disappeared. However, this could also mean that students have found new places to use, either on or off school grounds.
Still, many students question why students started to vape in the restrooms in the first place. A major reason is that it’s a quick and easy stress reliever that can be accessed anywhere, anytime. However, the school provides many services to help cope with stress, such as having two psychologists, Ms. Alyssa Czarnecki and Dr. Eric Clauss, 2 LMSWs (licensed master social worker), Dr.Adriana Najera-Pollak and Mr. Jose Mejia, as well as websites that reveal the effects of vaping. Another reason could just be curiosity. Friends are a big factor in decision making, as many friends will most likely follow each other’s doing. Problems at home could also be a possible reason. While there may be some controversy surrounding the introduction of vape detectors in our school, it could be the start of the district’s attempt to minimize or even eliminate drug use on school grounds.