I graduated in 1984 from Iowa Falls. The biggest problems then were marijuana. I was talking to a guy from Ohio and he was listing drugs that haven't even hit Iowa yet. Four percent are unsure. A friend's son nearly died from alcohol poisoning, and children of other friends have almost been killed by drunken drivers.
Alcohol is everywhere and alcohol is acceptable.
She has a daughter at Merrill Middle School. Questioning the safety of schools would have been unthinkable in another era. National reports of the school shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado and other places, as well as the student bullying and threats that parents hear about in local schools, have hurt their image as safe havens. They constantly bring it up. The kids don't need to hear that.