Drugs 'rife' in Australian Catholic Schools
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Drugs 'rife' in Australian Catholic Schools*
Milanda Rout and Matthew Schulz
May 06, 2007 03:34pm
Article from: Herald-Sun
AN ELITE Catholic school's drugs scandal that led to the expulsion of a
senior student is just scratching the surface of a huge industry, a
former drug squad officer says.
Xavier College in Kew expelled a year 11 student and suspended three
others after busting a marijuana-dealing racket in the schoolyard.
Former undercover operative Damian Marrett – author of underworld expose
Wired: Undercover in the Underworld – says Catholic schools and
universities are often rife with drugs.
"I'm not at all surprised at the discovery," Marrett said today.
"If people think it's just marijuana in schools, they've got their head
in the sand.
"It's also pills and powders especially in years 11 and 12."
Police said today they were expected to call Catholic school authorities
in for talks after the Herald Sun revealed a year 11 student had been
expelled for selling marijuana.
Officers today confiscated a quantity of the drug from the Catholic
College, with Boroondara Police expected to speak with a 17-year-old
student and his parents in the "near future".
In a statement released today, police said any investigation would
depend on the results of the interview, while the drugs would be destroyed.
Marrett criticised the decision by the school not to inform police
because his experience had taught him that dealing marijuana often
opened the door to harder drugs.
His comments follow a claim by a leading child psychologist, Dr Michael
Carr-Gregg, that Xavier's decision not to report a drug-dealing student
to police was to protect its image.
Dr Carr-Gregg said the decision not to alert police was more about
preserving Xavier College's elite image than dealing with the problem,
although the school has denied any cover-up.
The school in the leafy inner-Melbourne suburb of Kew had let themselves
down by not calling police, he told Southern Cross radio today.
"We know that drug use is often a sign of other psychological problems.
So sometimes you have to get the kid to a rock bottom approach where the
police are involved, the parents are involved," Dr Carr-Gregg said.
"The police aren't going to be overly punitive for a kid who's only
using a little bit, but it can often be the trigger to get the help they
need."
Police today flagged further inquiries into the incident.
"There's no current investigation, but there will discussions between
the school and police about the incident," Senior Constable Leigh
Wadeson said this morning.
"It's school holidays at the moment and police will have to wait for
them to end before we take it any further."
Xavier has been rocked by the drug scandal after the year 11 student was
caught selling marijuana in the school yard.
Another three pupils were suspended after admitting they bought the drug
from the student.
Two of the suspended teenagers will return to school at the beginning of
next term, on Monday.
It is believed the expelled teenager has already been enrolled at
another school.
Staff at Xavier decided not to go to police over the incident, instead
referring the students concerned for counselling.
Students at the independent Catholic school, where parents pay more than
$15,000 in fees for VCE students, were told about the incident at
year-level assemblies.
Xavier deputy head Dominic Calipari yesterday confirmed that a year 11
student had been expelled in late February.
But Mr Calipari denied there had been a cover-up.
Otherwise, he said, "we wouldn't have gone to each year level and made
it public".
But Opposition education spokesman Philip Davis said any school
authorities who were aware of drug-selling in the school were obliged to
report it to police.
"Schools have a duty of care to children," Mr Davis said.
"And there should be no other policy than zero tolerance regarding drugs."
Police yesterday declined to comment until they had full details of the
drug incident.
Mr Calipari said some students came forward in February concerned that a
student was selling marijuana.
"I approached the individual and he acknowledged it," he said.
"He admitted it to me when I asked him . . . and he actually brought me
two samples."
Mr Calipari said the student, believed to be 16, knew the school's
strict drug policy.
"He said he was happy to accept the punishment," the deputy head said.
But Mr Calipari said the teenager was unwilling to name any other
students who bought the drug as he did not want to "dob in his mates".
The deputy head said the names of the three students who bought the
marijuana were obtained from other students.
He said the three admitted buying the drug and were suspended for up to
three weeks.
"They made admissions," Mr Calipari said.
He said that one student said he had not used it, while another had
admitted to smoking it in his back yard.
Mr Calipari said the school believed it had taken the best course of action.
"It was just important to get the parents in and talk about the future
(of the student)," he said.
"And we thought the appropriate thing was to go to our school population."
The deputy head said Xavier provided drug education in both religious
studies and health and human development classes.
Mr Calipari said the incident had come as a surprise.
"I have been teaching for 30 years and been deputy head for 10 years,
and I was of the opinion that drug selling in schools . . . was dying
out," he said.
"I knew him personally and he always says good morning.
"I think at the end of the day, the parents of this boy understood that
it was good for them to be aware of it so they can put in preventative
measures."
The Herald Sun revealed in October that Geelong Grammar had suspended a
dozen students for underage drinking.