Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

WHERE I STAND:

A unified voice on controversial social topics

Kristopher Alighchi of Rancho High School during the 58th annual Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum at the Las Vegas Convention Center Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014.

Kristopher Alighchi of Rancho High School during the 58th annual Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum at the Las Vegas Convention Center Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014.

Nearly 1,000 Clark County high school juniors and seniors recently attended the 58th annual Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum at the Las Vegas Convention Center. They gathered in groups and discussed a host of issues affecting the community, Nevada, the nation and the world. Each group selected a representative to write about the experience. Here is one of them.

We entered room N221 without knowing anyone or expecting anything. Each of us was a complete stranger, reflecting varying personalities, social classes, backgrounds and political affiliations.

Yet within that room, we found agreement on some of the most controversial law-and-order topics in Nevada today.

Our first was whether students should be held legally responsible for bullying. We all agreed that Nevada’s system of handling bullying was insufficient but didn’t concur on how to solve the issue.

One student questioned how to define degrees of bullying and whether punishment should vary accordingly. We discussed creating a bullying awareness-and-prevention campaign and proposed that all students found guilty of bullying enter a rehabilitation program.

We reached a consensus, at least about a rehabilitation program, not by arguing and asserting our thoughts as absolute but by realizing we all want to solve an issue that has been plaguing Nevada’s education system and spurring teen suicides for decades. We agreed that it is atrocious that victims of bullying are viewed as needing mental evaluation while we let bullies go unpunished.

Our next topic was the legalization of marijuana. We agreed that medical marijuana is vital to those suffering from cancer and HIV/AIDS (as an appetite enhancer), ADHD (as an anxiety suppressor) and epilepsy (as a muscle relaxer), as the effects are more cost-efficient with fewer acute side effects than what is offered by modern medicine.

But we faced a difficult choice on whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Among the pros: It could exponentially improve Nevada’s economy by drawing more tourists to the state and generating tax revenue. But the group shared concerns about public indecency, as well as safety concerns for bystanders inhaling fumes while in public and users driving under the influence.

Keeping these factors in mind, we suggested a policy that would legalize the use of recreational and medical marijuana — on private property. Such a proposal addresses arguments against marijuana legalization while still achieving a potential economic boon for Nevada and providing needed medical care for citizens suffering from severe illnesses.

In the end, we did not shape these policies by choosing the best viewpoints. We did so by incorporating all of our viewpoints to create a voice that was larger than any one person in the room could achieve.

Alone, we were whispers in room N221. Together, we stood united as an immutable voice, unwavering and unyielding, roaring toward the future of America.

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