Dear Editor:
I’m a student from John Black Public School in Fergus. I’m writing about a problem that has arisen in our society. Ontario is considering funding $30 million dollars to schools in order to buy vape detectors. But the vape detectors have a few problems.
Vaping is an addiction, correct? Well do you really think if we spend millions of dollars on detectors it will stop students from vaping?
Is there a possibility detectors stop students from vaping in bathrooms and schools? Maybe. But that will just move them to another area. Instead of vaping inside they will move to quiet places around the building, skipping class to go to some random field, or any other place they can think of.
Vaping is definitely a problem in our society, but I don’t think that these detectors are the solution. Instead why doesn’t the money go to people in poverty? In Guelph, the number of people living unhoused along roads and streets is becoming higher and higher. Why don’t we put some of the money towards that? Or what about putting more money into garbage removal from the lakes and rivers?
Vapes might be terrible for people but having a few detectors won’t make a huge difference in their addictions. There are many better ways to spend $30 million.
We should find a way to try and change these habits that students have, but these expensive devices aren’t the answer.
Norah Pinkney,
Fergus