The Student Activities Office goes to great lengths to bring a wide array of healthy and fun entertainments to campus over the course of the year. The quality of these diversions is assumed to be a key factor to students making wise decisions on Saturday nights, in particular. Last Saturday, the Wise Center was transformed into a casino.
An outfit based in Nashua brought card tables for poker and blackjack as well as a big wheel of fortune.
Boys were invited to come dressed as gangsters; girls as flappers.
The event was well attended, and everyone seemed to have a good time.
Some parents have offered an observation worthy of consideration. Is the school acting appropriately by bringing the trappings of a casino to campus, when gambling can be an addictive behavior?
The seriousness of gambling addiction is very real, and should be acknowledged regardless of one's feelings about Saturday night's event.
Our students were not risking money... chips were not exchangeable for anything. Does that make a difference? Some definitely believe that this is a salient point. But, does mimicking real gambling pose risk?
Students and teachers were pitching in as dealers. Is that appropriate?
Many of us, I would guess, do not know someone who struggles with gambling addiction. That may make it easy to be dismissive of the concern. But I wonder if we would feel the same if a loved one had lost everything to gambling.
The fact that students were encouraged to dress up in '20s-era clothes certainly suggests the humor and fun intended.
I don't think that the concern is over students betting over their own card or board games. The issue, as I understand it, is the school's role in sponsoring an activity that can be pathological for some.
Your thoughtful, and respectful, comments are welcome! In the meantime, we can agree that a lot of kids had a lot of fun Saturday.
Thanks to Brenda Godwin for the pix.
