THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 27, 1996 TAG: 9606250118
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 114 lines
TODAY'S GRADUATES are pumped and on the move - away from high school, that is.
However, more than half of Norfolk's graduates are not ready to bid Hampton Roads farewell. They plan to stay.
That's just one response of many from The Virginian-Pilot's fifth annual survey of high school seniors. The Virginian-Pilot surveyed 777 students in Hampton Roads, including 152 in Norfolk.
While Norfolk's 1996 senior class said it was ready to leave high school, most members said they were satisfied with the education they received. Seventy-seven percent of the 777 seniors surveyed rated their educational quality as good-to-outstanding.
However, they are concerned. They know students who carry guns to school. Some have experimented with drugs. But these respondents claim they have enough information to keep them focused and headed in the right direction.
Seventy-eight percent of Norfolk teens reported they know enough about AIDS to protect themselves. More than one-third of Norfolk seniors, or 39 percent, like President Clinton's work and would vote him in as a second-term president in November. Thirty percent would vote for Colin Powell; 12 percent would vote for Bob Dole.
This is what Norfolk's graduates had to say.
Quality of education.
These seniors are optimistic. Sixty-three percent of Norfolk seniors say they are satisfied with their educational quality. Sixty percent of Norfolk seniors have plans to advance their education by attending a four-year college or university.
Steven Claiborne, 17 and now a graduate of Lake Taylor High School, said his senior year has prepared him for the responsibilities of college.
``As we started moving into adulthood we got a little more freedom, things weren't spoon-fed to us - they treated us as individuals,'' he said. ``In college, if you want to go to class, you go to class; if you don't, you don't and suffer the consequences. That's the kind of thing that was given to us in high school.
``They let us break away from authority figures in a sense and let us do our own thing. At the same time I was given more independence at home.''
Race relations.
About three-quarters of Norfolk teens - 74 percent - reported having close friends of another race. In schools, 44 percent of Norfolk teens said race relations have improved, while 40 percent say they have not changed, and 15 percent say race relations have worsened.
Lake Taylor's Claiborne had this to say:
``I think race relations have worsened because people don't want to talk about it anymore. People want to think it's a perfect world we live in, la la land. People forget it exists.''
Drugs and alcohol.
Two major problems plague the minds of today's teens. They see drugs and alcohol in some neighborhoods and in the schools.
Sixty percent of Norfolk seniors say they think drug and alcohol use by peers has increased. Forty-three percent of the 777 seniors surveyed reported experimenting with marijuana.
``I know a lot of people who started smoking marijuana who didn't used to smoke,'' said Lamont Clark, 17 and now a Booker T. Washington High School graduate. ``I have good values and morals. I just knew it wasn't for me.''
Drinking, too, has become a major problem among teens. However, 54 percent of the Norfolk students claim they never drink alcohol. The remaining 46 percent have a variety of drinking habits that range from drinking less than twice a month to drinking every day.
``Once I got to high school, I saw more marijuana use and alcohol use from people of various ages,'' Claiborne said. ``Every store doesn't I.D.''
AIDS and abortion.
Although 78 percent of Norfolk seniors said they know enough about AIDS to protect themselves, many argued that more could be done to educate students.
On the touchy issue of abortion, 41 percent of the Norfolk teens thought abortion should not be banned under any circumstances. The other 59 percent had opinions that ranged from abortion should be banned completely to it being restricted for minors.
``In my religion, we don't believe in abortion, but I don't think it should be banned completely,'' said Latoya Edwards, now a graduate of Granby High School. ``The only reason they should have abortion is if the baby begins to develop in the fallopian tubes. I don't think it's right to kill a child, but I can't tell them it's wrong.''
Other factors.
With peer pressure and other factors that possibly could hinder students' scholastic achievement, seniors were asked if anything stood in their way of doing the most they could in school. If so, what.
``A lot of factors,'' said Derrick Cherry, now a graduate of Lake Taylor High. ``Home, administrators, my own laziness, peer pressure but mostly teachers.
``Some teachers just come to get paid instead of coming to do their job, and they don't know how to talk to or relate to the students.'' ILLUSTRATION: ON THE COVER
The illustration of graduation memorabilia is by staff photographer
Steve Earley.
Staff photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
Honor student Melissa Wolda plays with her 16-month-old son, Austin
Taylor Wolda, before entering Chrysler Hall for Granby High's
graduation ceremony.
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 1996 HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR SURVEY
The Virginian-Pilot surveyed 777 graduating seniors in South Hampton
Roads in the Fifth Annual Survey of High School Seniors. Today's
graduates shared their opinions on a variety of issues including the
quality of the education they received, alcohol and drug use by
their peers, politics, religion, race relations, AIDS, abortion,
violence and religion.
[For a copy of the sample of questions and responses, see microfilm
for this date.]
KEYWORDS: SENIOR SURVEY GRADUATION CLASS OF 1996 by CNB