South Side Middle School students face big choices

South Side Middle School students in grades six, seven and eight attended a panel discussion titled Challenge to Choose Wisely on Sept. 8, their second day of classes, focusing on the challenges that await them in their teenage years. The theme of the hour-long program, which was presented three times during the day and tailored to each grade level, was making safe and smart choices.

Held in the school's auditorium, the discussion featured members of the drug and alcohol counseling centers Confide and South Oaks Hospital, as well as representatives of the law enforcement and legal communities, who shared their expertise on decisions that can lead to addiction and criminal behavior.

“The event was all about choices,” said the middle school's assistant principal, Rose Cammarata. “It apprised students of the reality of people's choices, and it was geared toward the various age levels in our school.”

Frank Mullahey of Confide was the first speaker, and he riveted students' attention as he stood on the auditorium stage and used a voice box to speak. Mullahey was once a chronic cigarette smoker, and he told his listeners that he began smoking at age 12, thinking it was cool and that it would help him fit in.

As he lost his voice, however, Mullahey discovered that smoking was a poor life decision. “Cigarettes are horrendous and filled with poison,” he said. “The greatest gift is to throw a pack away. I thought smoking would turn me into a tough guy, but it made me look like a fool.”

Using a PowerPoint slide presentation, Rockville Centre police officer Jim Giovanniello told students about gangs. He stressed the severe consequences of the choice to join a gang, despite the fact that every town in Nassau County has at least one. Anyone who decides to become a gang member, Giovanniello said, is at a high risk of going to prison or being killed.

He told students that gang members frequently drop out of school, and that the decision to join a gang can be disastrous because it is impossible to leave. “Stay involved in school because it's not worth it,” he said.

Nassau County Criminal Court Judge Anthony Paradiso offered his own advice to the students, describing his work: sealing the fate of people convicted of crimes. He told the students that a criminal record, like being a gang member, is permanent, and may severely impact the future of a student who hopes to apply to college. “Your decisions now are adult decisions with adult consequences,” Paradiso told the students. “You must understand that your choices are real.”

Wayne Rothwell, the final speaker, shared similar advice. Rothwell, a psychiatric social worker at South Oaks Hospital in Amityville, described for the students his work treating people afflicted with psychological and substance-abuse issues. He stressed to his rapt audience that making poor decisions can have lasting effects and even lead

to death.

Focusing on drugs, Rothwell stressed the negative. “All drugs are addictive, and all have a tendency to lead to other drugs,” he said. “Kids are at a point now where they are open to trying new things, but choosing wrong could cause disease or result in a lifetime in jail.”

Middle School Principal Shelagh McGinn opened and closed the panel discussion, and her words to the student audience echoed those of the speakers. At the end of the presentation, McGinn explained the purpose of organizing the discussion for the first time at the middle school, and so early in the school year.

“We're challenging you to make the right choices,” she said. “We want to talk not only about the perils of decision-making, but also the reality of it. We want you to have the wisdom, knowledge and words to make the wise decision.”

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