The Effects of Leavers Week in Australia - Essay Example

The effects of leaver’s week in Australia Name College Students in the whole of Australia always look ahead to the excitement of Leavers week. It is a week where they always celebrate their freedom from life school. It is the time they get to relax, hang out and party with their classmates and friends away from school. The Western Australia is celebrated due to its beaches, snorkeling sites, and parklands. Students explore these surroundings and snooze in the sunshine. It is mainly attended by Toolies and Foolies. Toolies are older revelers who are not high school graduates but always attend the schoolies week. On the other hand, Foolies are younger adolescents who attend leaver's week but have not graduated. (Teather, 2011). Schoolies week has been referred to as a rite of passage by the many teenagers in Australia. It is viewed as a transitional period from the youth stage to adulthood. (Winchester, 1999).Schoolies week has received criticism because of alcohol drinking and consumption of drugs such as tobacco and marijuana.(Stark,2011). Leveller’s week has been widely considered as an alcohol week. Students drink excessively and suffer the consequences after. A survey done in Australia showed that most of them rated the experience negatively afterward. (Allan, 2005).The consumption of alcohol has led to many social negative consequences. Firstly, Young women initiated in these activities are at risk of being casualties of unwanted sexual advances. Intoxicated men young men view drank women as easily available for sex and this lead to date rape. In turn, there is the transmission of sexually related diseases. A study that was done in 2010 found that one-third of males were due to have sex with multiple partners in the schoolies week according to Stark (2011).This has lead to transmission of sex-related diseases putting the dangers of the students and pupils at risk. Also, there is an alarm over the youths having sex in public sports like beaches during the events. This is a dangerous precedent to the society because such acts are unlawful. Secondly, schoolies activities have been accompanied by violence. Due to alcohol consumption, in 1996, the Gold Coast city council increased restriction of spaces and events. Police were deployed as several violent clashes were occurring involving groups of teenagers every night that week. (Varley, 2010).In fact, in subsequent years the number of police officers manning the events has sharply increased and also diversification of approaches to dealing with the same. Due to violence altercations between the teenager's many deaths have been caused, this has influenced the society negatively. The youths under the influence of drugs tend to engage in risky behaviors, they don't always give a second thought to their actions, because of the wrong impression that hinge drinking makes them enjoy their freedom it has finally resulted in an increase in injuries as other youths jump from the balconies. After such incidents, parts of the body may be broken disadvantaging the students. According to Rossow1 (2010), many teenagers have found themselves on the downside of the law, and many arrests were made. Students view the leaver’s week as a temporary time away from authority figures. This leads to many of them being detained and charged in courts. (Smith G, 2012).In the same vein, it is evident that driving under the influence of alcohol puts the lives of others in danger. Due to driving under the same, drivers tend to drive carelessly hence taking away the lives of many. Such cases have been reported during schoolies week. Families of the youths engaged in unlawful acts are always on the receiving end. Parents have had to shoulder the burden of the fines if not the clearance of hospital bills. Families have dwelt in agony because of such behaviors from their children. Some families have broken too as a result of children behavior as parents differ at home whose character the youth has taken after. Some policy approaches have been embraced by the government to restrict alcohol and drug usage. Some states have adopted zero tolerance to the same and others harm minimization. Harm reduction is a public health policy that is designed to reduce the dangers associated with drug abuse. Harm reduction began in Victoria state. Training workshop started with drug users on the possible giving of naloxone when the victim has an opiate overdose according to Paul (2010).Many workshops had been opened, and drug users were administered with naloxone paid for by community agencies of health.(Jane,2014).Needle program exchanges reduce the likelihood of transmission of drugs such as heroin and have been embraced. Reuse of syringes leads to infections such as HIV, and hence through the policy of harm reduction, the program like needle-exchange have been adopted hence reducing the risk of infection as cited by Cooper (2014).In the same line, sites, such as Supervised injection sites have been legally sanctioned and are medically monitored and are exclusively made to reduce public nuisance brought about by drug use besides providing a hygienic environment for the victims according to Islam (2012).There is also high media coverage of the dangers of alcohol consumption; this has made many aware of the consequences hence practicing caution. Many schools provide programs that create awareness of the dangers associated with unprotected sex and has emphasized the importance of protected sex like the use of condoms. On the other hand, some states have adopted zero tolerance to the use of drugs. In other states consumption of drugs is illegal as one found of them is deemed to have committed a crime. According to Watts, (2013), police announced zero tolerance to schoolies who were considered drunk. Police monitored their welfare of those in the leaver's activities and ensured compliance with the law. Restrictions were enacted and anyone found selling alcohol to the schoolies was fined heavily. In some events, students with alcohol were denied entry, and any youth found drinking is immediately sent away. This zero tolerance embraced has destroyed some negative impression that leavers week is only for using drugs and made the youths to realize that anything else apart from alcohol can make them still relax. Harm reduction has been criticized as compared to zero tolerance policy. Harm reduction has been opposed as false notion that there are safe ways of using drugs. People who would have stopped the use of drugs increase in their behavior because harm reduction creates a perception that some behavior can be undertaken safely. It is argued that use of harm minimization methods advocates for the legalization of drugs without giving help to users to be free from abuse of the same as compared to zero tolerance to drugs as cited by Kahan,(2006).Critics have also underscored that harm reduction methods try to establish some forms of drug use as acceptable in the society compared to zero tolerance methods that abolish such practices. To add on that harm reduction method is seen largely as presenting illicit substances as unpreventable and permeable to the society. It gives a window to the consumption and use of drugs. Provision of things like condoms to the young men acts as an inducement to pre-marital sex. Many theories explain addiction; they include, biomedical theories of addiction which focus primarily on biological factors concerning dependency, psychosocial theories of addiction which explore the interrelationship between psychological and social variables in determining adaptive habits and lastly is the psychological theory. Psychology is a science that is determined to understanding well human behavior. Addiction serves to limit drug users functioning and limiting life satisfaction. Psychological theory has been useful in comprehending why drug user engages in this unhealthy behaviors.(Horvath,2013).Psychology theory proposes that addiction or bad habits are developed in response to their environment. Basing on the psychology theory, teenagers who attend the leavers week tend to adopt some behaviors from their peers. Because the theory proposes that addiction is a learned behavior, many teens learn alcohol consumption and drug abuse through seeing their peers do the same. According to the theory, human beings learn through paired association, operant conditioning, and social learning. Peers on the leavers night demonstrate the social learning which is learning through observation. As others observe what others are doing and what is happening in the event, they too develop a habit of the same. Also, operant conditioning has lead to the growth of this bad habit. In Operant conditioning is a system of punishment and rewards forming the foundation for learning. Because of methods such as harm reduction teenagers have still embraced their drinking habits because the use of this method to them stipulates that use of drugs and alcohol is permissive to the society. To make it worse is that even some parents provide their children with alcohol to the events. Due to such events, youths grow up with a right attitude to drugs hence building up such characters in them. Many teenagers also argue that use of substances of alcohol brings a relaxation to them this has lead to growing addiction. Many schoolies view the consumption of alcohol as bring refreshment to them this explains why most of them crave for the same due to addiction according to Horvath,(2013).Due to the society' soft spot on drug matters or rather not portraying drugs as a destroyer many young men embrace the drugs for motives that are misguided. Young men in the society have been destroyed by the use of drugs. Peer influence has contributed to a larger extent of such behaviors hence young people should take caution in their company. Use of drugs has gross effects ranging from health effects which include diseases accrued illicit brew. Also economic effect like great resources being channeled into recovery process leaving families poor. People who are under the influence in the same tend to engage in violence and criminal activities. The use of drugs among the youths also has lead to mental illness, bright brains being wasted away. Young men are therefore advised to shun places that make them vulnerable to such acts. Education should be embraced in society creating awareness on the dangers of drug abuse. Active measures like zero tolerance should be welcomed by governments to make no room for such behaviors and just harm reduction methods.(Roehr,2009). Reference Teather K. E (2011). Embodied Geographies: Space, bodies and the rites of passage. London. Winchester, P.M.H, Pauline M. McGuirk, Kathryn Everett (1999). Schoolies week: definition de schoolies week et synonymes de.Retrieved: dictionnaire. Sensagent. Leparisien. Fr/schoolies+week/en-en. Australia. Stark J (2011). Schoolies get what they want. Booze and risky sex. Brisbane Times (Fairfax Media). Varley R. (2010). "Gold Coast schoolies get 'B-minus' rating from police." Retrieved: ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Australia. Allan E (2005). "Play Hard—Party Hard: Youth Culture in Paradise." Gilbert, Keith. Sexuality, Sport and the Culture of Risk. Oxford, United Kingdom: Meyer & Meyer Sport. p. 139. Sundstrom K (2011). "Schoolies are coming: expertly warns." Sunshine Coast Daily (Sunshine Coast Newspaper Company) Rossow1 EK.(2010). The impact of drinking sequence on alcohol-related violence among adolescents. An international comparative analysis Drug Alcohol vol. 29 Jane (2014). "Naloxone Update." Harm Reduction Victoria. HRV. Retrieved 17 March 2014.2(pg. 131-7) White V, Smith G (2012). Victorian secondary school students' use of illicit substances in 2011.Retrieved: Victorian Department of Health. Cooper Charlie (2014). "NICE: Needle exchanges to under-18 steroid users". Retrieved: The Independent. London. Islam & Reid & SE & White A,MM & Grummett S & Conigrave, KM, and Haber, (2012). "Opportunistic and continuing health care for injecting drug users from a nurse-run needle syringe program-based primary health-care clinic." Ellie-Marie Watts,(2013).Zero tolerance during schoolies. AUSTRALIA Kahan, M; Srivastava, A; Shen, K (2006). "Why we object to NAOMI: Heroin maintenance in Canada." Canadian Family Physician. 52 (6): 705–6, 709–11. Paul Dietze; Simon Lenton ( 2010). "The case for the larger distribution of naloxone in Australia" (PDF). Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Association ACT. ATODA. Horvath T (2013).Psychological causes of addiction. Retrieve from:www.amhc.org/1408addiction/article/48345-psychological. Roehr B (2009). "Pope claims that condoms exacerbate HIV and AIDS problem." BMJ. 338: Read More

Secondly, schoolies activities have been accompanied by violence. Due to alcohol consumption, in 1996, the Gold Coast city council increased restriction of spaces and events. Police were deployed as several violent clashes were occurring involving groups of teenagers every night that week. (Varley, 2010).In fact, in subsequent years the number of police officers manning the events has sharply increased and also diversification of approaches to dealing with the same. Due to violence altercations between the teenager's many deaths have been caused, this has influenced the society negatively.

The youths under the influence of drugs tend to engage in risky behaviors, they don't always give a second thought to their actions, because of the wrong impression that hinge drinking makes them enjoy their freedom it has finally resulted in an increase in injuries as other youths jump from the balconies. After such incidents, parts of the body may be broken disadvantaging the students. According to Rossow1 (2010), many teenagers have found themselves on the downside of the law, and many arrests were made.

Students view the leaver’s week as a temporary time away from authority figures. This leads to many of them being detained and charged in courts. (Smith G, 2012).In the same vein, it is evident that driving under the influence of alcohol puts the lives of others in danger. Due to driving under the same, drivers tend to drive carelessly hence taking away the lives of many. Such cases have been reported during schoolies week. Families of the youths engaged in unlawful acts are always on the receiving end.

Parents have had to shoulder the burden of the fines if not the clearance of hospital bills. Families have dwelt in agony because of such behaviors from their children. Some families have broken too as a result of children behavior as parents differ at home whose character the youth has taken after. Some policy approaches have been embraced by the government to restrict alcohol and drug usage. Some states have adopted zero tolerance to the same and others harm minimization. Harm reduction is a public health policy that is designed to reduce the dangers associated with drug abuse.

Harm reduction began in Victoria state. Training workshop started with drug users on the possible giving of naloxone when the victim has an opiate overdose according to Paul (2010).Many workshops had been opened, and drug users were administered with naloxone paid for by community agencies of health.(Jane,2014).Needle program exchanges reduce the likelihood of transmission of drugs such as heroin and have been embraced. Reuse of syringes leads to infections such as HIV, and hence through the policy of harm reduction, the program like needle-exchange have been adopted hence reducing the risk of infection as cited by Cooper (2014).

In the same line, sites, such as Supervised injection sites have been legally sanctioned and are medically monitored and are exclusively made to reduce public nuisance brought about by drug use besides providing a hygienic environment for the victims according to Islam (2012).There is also high media coverage of the dangers of alcohol consumption; this has made many aware of the consequences hence practicing caution. Many schools provide programs that create awareness of the dangers associated with unprotected sex and has emphasized the importance of protected sex like the use of condoms.

On the other hand, some states have adopted zero tolerance to the use of drugs. In other states consumption of drugs is illegal as one found of them is deemed to have committed a crime. According to Watts, (2013), police announced zero tolerance to schoolies who were considered drunk. Police monitored their welfare of those in the leaver's activities and ensured compliance with the law. Restrictions were enacted and anyone found selling alcohol to the schoolies was fined heavily. In some events, students with alcohol were denied entry, and any youth found drinking is immediately sent away.

Read More