Notre Dame recruit from Cincinnati dies

[kyxu]

All-American recruit Matt James from St. X who had committed to Notre Dame on national signing day died while on Spring Break.

Reportedly, he fell from a balcony. He was about a week shy of his 18th birthday.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5051968

I'm sure a lot of us remember our Spring Breaks in high school and all the "near death" stories, but hearing something like this, especially about someone this young, is just tragic. Can't imagine what his family is going through over this holiday weekend.

[golfitup]

Not good times.

[AdamtheFlyer]

Just read that. Absolutely horrible. This and the UD volleyball player on consecutive days...almost too much to take, certainly too much to understand.

I've been to Panama City twice, once as a HS senior and once in college. Unfortunately news like this is no surprise to anyone that's been. Spring Break is fun, but it's far from safe. RIP Matt James.

[kyxu]

I've been to Panama City twice, once as a HS senior and once in college. Unfortunately news like this is no surprise to anyone that's been. Spring Break is fun, but it's far from safe. RIP Matt James.

Exactly. And we always thought our parents were nagging us whenever we left for spring break, and thought them crazy when they would pray the rosary until we walked back through the door, and it's stories like this that kept them up at night.

Promising lives cut short.

[xu05usmc]

This is just an unbelievable burden for his friends and family right now. To lose a friend at this age is just unbearable. I had friend from high school who was shot and killed when I was in 10th grade, I still haven't been able to get over it, I still haven't gotten over a lot of my buddies from the usmc. I am not a religious man but my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. News like this just makes us all realize how lucky and blessed all of us are.

[Porkopolis]

Very sad news that hits close to home. A lot of my former students were very close to him.

[SixFig]

No parent should have to bury their child.

[vee4xu]

Saw about the St. X kid in the paper. Having two children both in their early 20"s, stories like this one take on a different meaning. I feel for the kid, but I really feel for the parents. It's their worst nightmare come true.

[CinciX12]

Sad to hear.

My parents would have never allowed me to go to PCB as a senior in high school. I had to beg to be able to go THIS year (Junior year of college), and I didn't receive a dime from them to do it.

Not saying they made a mistake letting him go because hindsight is 20/20. But I can't picture me letting my son or daughter doing this.

[THRILLHOUSE]

update from the police report is that he was arguing with people in the neighboring room, leaned over the balcony and fell. So sad.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100403/SPT030101/304030009/Police+investigating+death+of+Notre+Dame+recruit+M att+James

[stophorseabuse]

Sad to hear.

My parents would have never allowed me to go to PCB as a senior in high school. I had to beg to be able to go THIS year (Junior year of college), and I didn't receive a dime from them to do it.

Not saying they made a mistake letting him go because hindsight is 20/20. But I can't picture me letting my son or daughter doing this.

It's a part of growing up. The kid was 18 years old, a month from graduating HS. I'm sure my kid will want to go when he's 18, and I also know will warn him of specifically this. Living close to PCB this is not uncommon at all. The railings in front of the pool areas in most PCB hotels go all the way to the top so kids don't try a 5th floor dive to the pool.

The parents were not wrong here, the kid was just being a kid and something terrible happened. Many other kids will learn a life lesson from this, though it is a terrible way to learn one. A terrible shame.

[DC Muskie]

The parents were not wrong here, the kid was just being a kid and something terrible happened.

I have to say I completely disagree. Why in the world are high school kids going down to Florida for spring break in the first place?

Maybe I'm too old, or uncool, or whatever. But I don't know too many kids who go down to Florida for spring break in high school, and then drink get into an argument and then fall to their death.

I also don't know many parents who would let their kids go.

My prayers to the family. Such an unnecessary loss.

[GoMuskies]

I would never have been allowed to go to Florida unsupervised in high school (I was always playing baseball, so it never really came up anyway), and there's no way I'd let my kid go.

However, from reading one of the articles I believe there were some parents on the trip with a group of kids. I could see getting comfortable with that as a parent.

[kyxu]

Maybe I'm too old, or uncool, or whatever. But I don't know too many kids who go down to Florida for spring break in high school, and then drink get into an argument and then fall to their death.


I can't give you a percentage or anything, but many, many high school kids head out for Spring Break. When I was in Florida my senior year of high school, there were high school kids everywhere. I actually met a girl on the beach who I ended up bumping into on move-in day my very first day at Xavier.

Of course, there were parents nearby.

I'm not advocating letting high school kids run wild, but many of them are about a month away from being on their own anyway for four years of college, having to learn how to make adult decisions that have consequences on the rest of their life.

Deaths like this are incredibly tragic, but kids going down to Florida and getting drunk are really nothing new. They say James got "belligerent", but I don't even know what that means, or what effect that had on his death. He was leaning over a rail to shout something at a room next door, lost his balance and fell. It's not like he got into a brawl and got thrown over. Just kind of a freak accident, very likely exacerbated by his intoxication.

[DC Muskie]

Well I have to say I don't understand the argument that because they are about a month away from being in college and making adult decisions then they should be able to go down to Florida for spring break. I mean that to me is a slippery slope.

I don't want to sound like a prude, but why can't people just wait before they go off and make adult like choices? I mean it's not like you go to Florida in high school and "bam" you can make adult choices. There are a lot of opportunities for that.

I guess what really bothers me is how preventable this was. I mean they are still in high school. There's not parental responsibility for allowing kids to get into this situation?

Anyway, it's really heartbreaking. The kid had a great future ahead of him. It just seem ridiculous to chalk it up to, "kids do this stuff all the time and this was just an accident." I'm probably wrong, but it just sucks.

[Fireball]

This is definitely a horrible thing. Say what you want, but this should not have been allowed to happen in the first place.

I feel bad for the people affected by this, but I still consider it amazing that a parent would let their 17-year-old go to Spring Break unsupervised. I say this knowing at 17 that I would have loved to go to Spring Break with my friends, but my parents were clear that was never going to happen.

And no way my girls will be going to Spring Break in high school either.

[xuwin]

I have to say I completely disagree. Why in the world are high school kids going down to Florida for spring break in the first place?

Maybe I'm too old, or uncool, or whatever. But I don't know too many kids who go down to Florida for spring break in high school, and then drink get into an argument and then fall to their death.

I also don't know many parents who would let their kids go.

My prayers to the family. Such an unnecessary loss.

I agree with you. I don't know of any parents in my circle of friends who would let their kids go either.

[AdamtheFlyer]

It's a tough issue, because I'm not sure there's a right or wrong answer. It may seem very risky to let a 17/18 year old kid go to Florida on their own, and it is on some level, but kids are kids. They're going to find ways to drink and party with friends, and sometimes that leads to bad decisions and tragic consequences. I certainly don't think more blame should be placed on the James family than the family of a kid that drinks with buddies a mile from his house, chooses to drive home and hits a tree along the way. Or the family of a kid that ODs on pills.

Bad things happens sometimes, for no apparent reason. I went to PC as a HS senior and have known of hundreds of others that went and came back safe and sound. Our group of 25-30 didn't even get in as much as an argument all week. I also had a friend driving home from school at Sinclair CC (a 5 mile drive) that was killed on a crash on I-75 just south of Dayton. It's life. All you can do is grieve, pray for the person, and pray their family can somehow, someday find peace.

[stophorseabuse]

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a very personal parental decision, and I respect any decision a parent makes. At the same time letting your of age child go on Spring Break is not necessarily bad parenting. It depends on your school of thought. 99.99 percent of kids do come home fine. As a parent I still don't like those numbers.

While I will not advise it, and I absolutely WILL NOT fund it, I won't stop my son at that time from going where he chooses to go. I think a lot of it has to do with how our parents raised us too. The most dangerous place my parents ever sent me was college, not on baseball trips or vacation to the beach.

Of course it helped I made about 20 thousand a year in high school from tobacco crops and firewood. I had my own money which took away their leverage. If I hadn't had my own money no way my parents would have allowed that. (Or funded it rather.)

[kyxu]

It's a tough issue, because I'm not sure there's a right or wrong answer. It may seem very risky to let a 17/18 year old kid go to Florida on their own, and it is on some level, but kids are kids. They're going to find ways to drink and party with friends, and sometimes that leads to bad decisions and tragic consequences. I certainly don't think more blame should be placed on the James family than the family of a kid that drinks with buddies a mile from his house, chooses to drive home and hits a tree along the way. Or the family of a kid that ODs on pills.

Bad things happens sometimes, for no apparent reason. I went to PC as a HS senior and have known of hundreds of others that went and came back safe and sound. Our group of 25-30 didn't even get in as much as an argument all week. I also had a friend driving home from school at Sinclair CC (a 5 mile drive) that was killed on a crash on I-75 just south of Dayton. It's life. All you can do is grieve, pray for the person, and pray their family can somehow, someday find peace.

This is kind of where I stand. I mean, something like this could've happened in Cincinnati on a weekend.

[MADXSTER]

I feel bad for the people affected by this, but I still consider it amazing that a parent would let their 17-year-old go to Spring Break unsupervised.

My understanding as well is that there were adults around. They just weren't at that spot at that time where the incident occurred.

So the question becomes, would you let your kid go knowing that there were going to be 3 or 4 adults going as well? I believe that was the case here.

[xubrew]

I have to say I completely disagree. Why in the world are high school kids going down to Florida for spring break in the first place?

Maybe I'm too old, or uncool, or whatever. But I don't know too many kids who go down to Florida for spring break in high school, and then drink get into an argument and then fall to their death.

I also don't know many parents who would let their kids go.

My prayers to the family. Such an unnecessary loss.

a high school friend of mine's parents used to buy us alcohol to drink at their house. even at the time i didn't understand it, and it makes even less sense now. i'm still friends with the guy and think his parents are wonderful and successful people, but why on earth would you do that?? i understand (not necessarily agree with, but understand the logic of) providing it because if they're going to do it it's better to do it at home, but the thing is people would just come and go, and we'd take it with us to wherever.

it was incredibly easy to mislead my parents. for all they knew i was over at my friend's house, so why worry??

i can only speak from my own experience, but most of my friends' parents wouldn't let their kids go on spring break unchaperoned, but if one person's parents are willing enable it to happen, you're set. i never got a spring break because i played spring sports, but if we had, they would have been our "chaperones."

i'm merely pointing this out because i'm not going to jump to the conclusions that it was the fault of HIS parents. i did all kinds of things that my parents would not have approved of. i either didn't tell them, misled, or flat out lied to them. it's very possible his parents were unaware of the actual circumstances as to his being down there. i know mine would have been.

[xudash]

My understanding as well is that there were adults around. They just weren't at that spot at that time where the incident occurred.

So the question becomes, would you let your kid go knowing that there were going to be 3 or 4 adults going as well? I believe that was the case here.

No.

I'm with DC on this.

Firstly, I certainly wouldn't want to be one of the adults tagged with the mission of "babysitting" a bunch of kids who are getting their first taste of wild out-of-town freedom.

Beyond that: high school kids on a spring break road trip to Florida? That encapsulates what we've done in society at large, moving everything up from stuff like this - which really is a collegiate experience - to kids experiencing sex at a much earlier age than most here probably ever did.

[MADXSTER]

Beyond that: high school kids on a spring break road trip to Florida? That encapsulates what we've done in society at large, moving everything up from stuff like this - which really is a collegiate experience - to kids experiencing sex at a much earlier age than most here probably ever did.

I will say this....This is nothing new. My first spring break down Florida 25 years ago I was shocked at how many highschoolers from Michigan were down there. I'm sure they were down there way before my first trip. In other words, more than a generation ago there were highschoolers on spring break.

In addition, collegiate experiences result in the same things happening. The two times I went down in college, someone had died before and during the week I attended.

[Kahns Krazy]

I went to Daytona my senior year in high school with 11 other guys, and no adults. We went after graduation instead of during spring break, but it was the same thing. I was a responsible kid, and I was heading off in a few months to be totally unsupervised at college anyway.

Most of my "we almost died" stories took place right around Cincinnati.

[Cheesehead]

I feel horrible for the James family. It's a tragedy and we can talk about why or how this took place but a 17 year old kid is dead. Having said this, I don't why HS kids need to go on Spring Break either with adults or by themselves. I am not sure when this became an acceptable thing. I know my parents would have said hell no to the mere thought of it.

I understand that in a month, Matt would have been 18 (a week away) and off on his own as a stud at Notre Dame. Certainly things can happen at any point while off at college. I have a few stories where many of us are lucky to have not gotten hurt or worse. I just don't think HS kids should be allowed to be put into that situation.

[kyxu]

I feel horrible for the James family. It's a tragedy and we can talk about why or how this took place but a 17 year old kid is dead. Having said this, I don't why HS kids need to go on Spring Break either with adults or by themselves. I am not sure when this became an acceptable thing. I know my parents would have said hell no to the mere thought of it.

I understand that in a month, Matt would have been 18 (a week away) and off on his own as a stud at Notre Dame. Certainly things can happen at any point while off at college. I have a few stories where many of us are lucky to have not gotten hurt or worse. I just don't think HS kids should be allowed to be put into that situation.

...of getting inebriated to the point of putting yourself in danger? I think if anyone imbibes outside their house, they put themselves at a risk of a number of things.

As for HS kids going away for Spring Break...my parents are in their 60s, and kids were doing it back when they were in high school. This is not some new phenomenon just because your parents would not have let you go.

Every time there's a tragedy like this, people have the tendency to jump to conclusions on how it could have been prevented and what were the parents thinking. It's terrible to hear, but tragedies happen. Letting your kids go away for spring break when they're seniors in high school isn't any more dangerous than some parents who give their 14-year-old a 4-wheeler or a 10-year-old a pellet gun.

[D-West & PO-Z]

...of getting inebriated to the point of putting yourself in danger? I think if anyone imbibes outside their house, they put themselves at a risk of a number of things.

As for HS kids going away for Spring Break...my parents are in their 60s, and kids were doing it back when they were in high school. This is not some new phenomenon just because your parents would not have let you go.

Every time there's a tragedy like this, people have the tendency to jump to conclusions on how it could have been prevented and what were the parents thinking. It's terrible to hear, but tragedies happen. Letting your kids go away for spring break when they're seniors in high school isn't any more dangerous than some parents who give their 14-year-old a 4-wheeler or a 10-year-old a pellet gun.

Thank you, seriously.

This is not some new trend.

When I was at St. X my senior year we went down to Panama City as well for Spring Break and the kids who played spring sports went on a summer trip, and some kids went on both. We drank but we didnt do anything terribly stupid and we all came back in one piece.

I dont understand the, apparently monumental difference to some, between a high school senior in April of 2010, and a college freshman in August of 2010. Allowing your kids to go on spring break in florida is not some sort of death sentence, at least no more than letting your kids go to college 4 months later. It was a freak accident.

I have heard varying stories on what actually happened, including some relayed to me from a few of the kids who were actually in the same hotel room as James, but I tend to believe based on what I have heard that if James were a normal size person and not 6'7 he would not have fallen over. Where a rail on a balcony would come to my midsection (I'm 6'2) the same rail may only come to James' hip or below. Being such a big guy and top heavy it is easier for him to tip over that rail.

My mom lectured my brother and I and our friends about being careful around the balconies and she actually would not allow us to be in the regular hotel but instead this 2 story villa type thing that had a deck with a high sturdy rail (plus the fall was not far). She reminded me of how she lectured us on that when she allowed us to go on spring break.

It really is a tragedy and the James' family and friends have and will continue to be in my prayers.

[xavierj]

Just as many if not more high school kids get killed at home as they do on spring break. It is terrible what happened but kids who drink too much and when you add immaturity to it, they can get killed anywhere. Kids also die driving too fast or too careless in cars but not too many parents say they will never let their kids drive a car.

[Kahns Krazy]

I feel horrible for the James family. It's a tragedy and we can talk about why or how this took place but a 17 year old kid is dead. Having said this, I don't why HS kids need to go on Spring Break either with adults or by themselves. I am not sure when this became an acceptable thing. I know my parents would have said hell no to the mere thought of it.

I understand that in a month, Matt would have been 18 (a week away) and off on his own as a stud at Notre Dame. Certainly things can happen at any point while off at college. I have a few stories where many of us are lucky to have not gotten hurt or worse. I just don't think HS kids should be allowed to be put into that situation.

I agree. Cancel high school spring break. Also, prom. That shit is dangerous. Oh, and high school football. Did you know people get injured, some seriously, playing football every year? A beer bottle fell off the railing of the deck at Dana's and damn near conked Snipe in his enormous melon. Close the deck at Dana's. And only sell beer in plastic. And those car things are killers. Beer is bad for you. Outlaw showers, people fall in those.

[Strange Brew]

I agree. Cancel high school spring break. Also, prom. That shit is dangerous. Oh, and high school football. Did you know people get injured, some seriously, playing football every year? A beer bottle fell off the railing of the deck at Dana's and damn near conked Snipe in his enormous melon. Close the deck at Dana's. And only sell beer in plastic. And those car things are killers. Beer is bad for you. Outlaw showers, people fall in those.

Kahns, you forgot the exhaling. I read somewhere that practicing that act will eventually wipe out all life on Earth. High school kids should definitely stop that immediately. I mean don't they know their future World is at stake :rolleyes:

[DC Muskie]

I'm just curious how many people on this board knew of someone dying at Xavier that involved alcohol? Or in high school?

I'm fortunate the only situations I ever came across were stomachs being pumped and a couple car accidents. I'm grateful that I never had to experience something that seems that could happen anywhere.

I think Madxster mentioned on trips down there in college someone had died each time. That's incredible to me.

[PM Thor]

I knew 2 kids who died from alcohol related stuff. One got drunk and killed himelf in his backyard. Another got drunk and went hillhopping, hit a utility pole about 10 feet up and split his car in 2.

DC, this James death hits very, and I mean VERY, close to home.

The night of his death a bunch of his family were at a fundraiser on the West Side, in which a bunch of coworkers were there. One friend actually had to pull one of the James clan aside and tell him to call home, because he had heard that the kid had been hurt (they thought he broke his leg initially) and they didn't know. Then the terrible news started to come out, and the family took off.

It's quite interesting, and this is especially true on the West Side, everyone knows everyone in this town.

As for Panama City...

I got kicked out of a hotel for hopping balconies. I was drunk too, and got locked out of my room. Seeing as I was trying to hook up with a girl that night, I HAD to get into the room, my only option being climbing across the balcony. Three stories up, security guard saw me, and busted. Nearly got arrested.

It was really, really stupid on my part, I know this now.

It's a damn shame what happened to the James kid. But kids do really dumb things sometimes, and unfortunately they pay for it in the most horrific way.

I HATE dayton.

[xu_fan]

From a 22 year-old's perspective (almost 23) I can say the difference in maturity from my senior year at high school to my freshman year at college was amazing. It was not only a feel of independence but more responsibility. Just the atmosphere at college compared to high school makes you grow up real quick. My point in saying that is because the stupid things I would have done as a senior in high school in florida would have been drastically different my freshman year in college. I truly feel like I matured THAT much in such a short time period.

I would never blame the parents for letting their kid's go to Florida on spring break though. Many teenagers go down there and 99.99999% come back alive. It is also important to realize that every child is different. Some high schoolers may be extremely mature and parents would absolutely trust them to make the right decisions, while others may be extremely immature and never let them go in a million years. It just depends. Either way his family is certainly in my prayers.

[Cheesehead]

I agree. Cancel high school spring break. Also, prom. That shit is dangerous. Oh, and high school football. Did you know people get injured, some seriously, playing football every year? A beer bottle fell off the railing of the deck at Dana's and damn near conked Snipe in his enormous melon. Close the deck at Dana's. And only sell beer in plastic. And those car things are killers. Beer is bad for you. Outlaw showers, people fall in those.

Hey, to each their own. Just don't be a dick about it. I guess I will be one of those "uncool" parents as I don't see me allowing my kids to go on Spring Break while in HS. I was more mature by the end of my freshman year than when I arrived on campus and I was certainly more mature than when I graduated from HS. I did the Spring Break thing my Junior year at XU and had a great and largely drunken time. I enjoyed myself in college; the group I hung out with had a certain reputation. I did a lot of stupid shit. I am NOT blaming the James family. I am merely saying that I don't think most HS students are able to handle the Spring Break thing. I was 17 when I graduated from HS and I know I wasn't ready for it.

[Kahns Krazy]

Hey, to each their own. Just don't be a dick about it. I guess I will be one of those "uncool" parents as I don't see me allowing my kids to go on Spring Break while in HS. I was more mature by the end of my freshman year than when I arrived on campus and I was certainly more mature than when I graduated from HS. I did the Spring Break thing my Junior year at XU and had a great and largely drunken time. I enjoyed myself in college; the group I hung out with had a certain reputation. I did a lot of stupid shit. I am NOT blaming the James family. I am merely saying that I don't think most HS students are able to handle the Spring Break thing. I was 17 when I graduated from HS and I know I wasn't ready for it.

The maturity comes from being on your own and making your own decisions. There is not some magical chemical reaction that occurs when you turn 18 or enroll in college.

In hindsight, I'm somewhat amazed that my parents let me go. We had absolutely zero parental presence. But like I said, we had established that we were responsible kids. I think we all had jobs, we had graduated from high school.

I disagree that "most HS students" can not handle spring break. Statistically, nearly all of them do handle it.

I didn't mean to be a dick. When I first read your post, I kind of took your last statement to be that there should be a law against high school kids on spring break. That's probably not what you meant, but I responded like it was anyway.

[blobfan]

I don't know the family so I cannot make judgements about their parenting or the boys level of maturity. For all I know he was a perfect kid who had is first drink on a supervised Spring Break trip and went nuts, acting in a way no one could have anticipated.

I can see both sides of the argument here and I think it has a lot to do with how you were raised and what stupidity you either saw or participated in. My experience was that most of the kids allowed to go on Spring Break without sufficient supervision were too immature to go, but they were immature because their parents didn't supervise them well, or really know what kind of people they were. So my gut reaction is that most parents are stupid to let their kids go on Spring Break unless a responsible, adult familiy member is present.

But I don't know the details of this case so I'm siding with Kahn's for now: sh!t happens. We can either wrap ourselves in bubble wrap and never leave the house, or we can take calculated risks and hope for the best. And just because a loss is possible, or even probable, doesn't make it any less sad for the people that loved him.

[GuyFawkes38]

I do think it's an odd aspect of American culture that there is a general acceptance of occasional binge drinking, but habitual, low consumption drinking is frowned upon for teens/young adults.

Really bad things happen when one binge drinks. We would live in a much safer society if more people regularly consumed modest amounts of alcohol instead of binge drinking occasionally.

[boozehound]

Thank you, seriously.

This is not some new trend.

When I was at St. X my senior year we went down to Panama City as well for Spring Break and the kids who played spring sports went on a summer trip, and some kids went on both. We drank but we didnt do anything terribly stupid and we all came back in one piece.

I dont understand the, apparently monumental difference to some, between a high school senior in April of 2010, and a college freshman in August of 2010. Allowing your kids to go on spring break in florida is not some sort of death sentence, at least no more than letting your kids go to college 4 months later. It was a freak accident.

It really is a tragedy and the James' family and friends have and will continue to be in my prayers.

I agree with most all of what you said here. Personally I was not any more mature my Freshman year of college than I was my Senior year of high school. I was not allowed to go on spring break in high school. I was pissed at the time, but my parents were right. I was not the most mature 18 year old. I think that to some degree it is up to the parents to make the decision based on the maturity level of their kids. Many of these kids are 18 though and soon to go to college. There will be plenty of opportunities for them to get hurt there, as well.

It is a freak accident and it is very sad. I can't imagine what that must be like for the family. His parents will probably be second guessing their decision to let him go to Florida for the rest of their lives.

Sometimes terrible things just happen, and there is a fine line between living life to the fullest and not taking any risks in an effort to keep out of harm's way.

[boozehound]

I do think it's an odd aspect of American culture that there is a general acceptance of occasional binge drinking, but habitual, low consumption drinking is frowned upon for teens/young adults.

Really bad things happen when one binge drinks. We would live in a much safer society if more people regularly consumed modest amounts of alcohol instead of binge drinking occasionally.

Whatever dude. Binge drinking rules!

Seriously though, I don't know exactly how you define binge drinking but I have had some pretty fun times getting pretty freaking drunk. I don't know that binge drinking is really a problem for everybody. Some people handle it well, others don't. We all knew people in college who would get wasted and act like total idiots. We also knew people who would get wasted and still have some level of decision making ability to not do anything too stupid.

[GuyFawkes38]

Whatever dude. Binge drinking rules!

Seriously though, I don't know exactly how you define binge drinking but I have had some pretty fun times getting pretty freaking drunk. I don't know that binge drinking is really a problem for everybody. Some people handle it well, others don't. We all knew people in college who would get wasted and act like total idiots. We also knew people who would get wasted and still have some level of decision making ability to not do anything too stupid.

true. It is undeniably fun to binge drink every once in a while. I do think it should generally be looked down upon a little more because it does lead to some bad stuff.

But your right. It really seems to depend on who is doing the drinking.

[Cheesehead]

The maturity comes from being on your own and making your own decisions. There is not some magical chemical reaction that occurs when you turn 18 or enroll in college.

In hindsight, I'm somewhat amazed that my parents let me go. We had absolutely zero parental presence. But like I said, we had established that we were responsible kids. I think we all had jobs, we had graduated from high school.

I disagree that "most HS students" can not handle spring break. Statistically, nearly all of them do handle it.

I didn't mean to be a dick. When I first read your post, I kind of took your last statement to be that there should be a law against high school kids on spring break. That's probably not what you meant, but I responded like it was anyway.

I would never advocate for actual legislation against Spring Break. We have enough idiotic laws in this country. I understand we can't bubble wrap our kids and sometimes shit happens for no good reason. I never wore a helmet as a kid. We made ramps out of plywood and jumped over each other like Evil Knievel with no elbow or knee pads. Somehow we manged only occasional rasberry. Having said all of this, I'm still not letting my kids go to Spring Break unless I'm right there with them. :sword:

Seriously, I really feel for this family. I'm not sure I would ever be able to get past it. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

[GoMuskies]

I think this story is another pretty good indication of why I think it's a bad idea (at least for my kids) for high school kids to take these Spring Break trips. High school kids are, by and large, awful drivers (I had a slew of accidents before I figured out the driving thing), and having them out on the highway for 24 hours roundtrip is not particularly safe. Awful story from Notre Dame Academy.

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20100417/NEWS0103/304150018

[D-West & PO-Z]

I think this story is another pretty good indication of why I think it's a bad idea (at least for my kids) for high school kids to take these Spring Break trips. High school kids are, by and large, awful drivers (I had a slew of accidents before I figured out the driving thing), and having them out on the highway for 24 hours roundtrip is not particularly safe. Awful story from Notre Dame Academy.

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20100417/NEWS0103/304150018

Terrible news. My prayers go out to those girls, their families, and friends.

[xuwin]

How do you get 8 girls plus luggage in a Honda Pilot SUV for a trip to Florida and back anyway and what parents would let their high school kid travel like this? The two that were wearing seat belts were barely injured and the other six were thrown from the vehicle. I never allow more people to ride in my car than I have seat belts for. IMO it's irresponsibility on the parents part.

[MADXSTER]

How do you get 8 girls plus luggage in a Honda Pilot SUV for a trip to Florida and back anyway and what parents would let their high school kid travel like this? The two that were wearing seat belts were barely injured and the other six were thrown from the vehicle. I never allow more people to ride in my car than I have seat belts for. IMO it's irresponsibility on the parents part.

Providing the parents knew. Let's not jump to conclusions.

[Juice]

Providing the parents knew. Let's not jump to conclusions.

Correct. How many times do you think kids pack that many into a car driving around Cincinnati?

Kids do stupid things sometimes and bad things happen. It doesn't make the parents bad parents or the kids bad people. Sometimes shitty luck takes over.

[xugolf]

Xster is correct, the whole story is these girls were in Florida with parents chaperoning and many came in different cars. When a group of the girls decided to come home early on Friday 2 or 3 asked to jump in. So in other words 5 or 6 were originally in the car for the ride down. Young girls not thinking and 8 jumping into a car together. All of these girls were Honor Students and Atheletes but did what allot of 17 year olds do: make a bad decision. Very very sad I know parents of two and coached two of their brothers.
Believe me I beat on my son day in and day out about seat belts and that was my first thought: how do seemingly very intelligent girls not wear seat belts. It still bothers me but obviously they made a poor decision puting 8 into a car that really fits 6 or at most 7.

BTW as you can see this is my first post, read here but generally participate at another site but wanted to give some clarification to the story.

[SixFig]

Believe me I beat on my son day in and day out .
I had to read this sentence twice just to make sure I wasn't making quick judgements ;)

[xugolf]

I had to read this sentence twice just to make sure I wasn't making quick judgements ;)

Yes, Obviously use of words for dramatics not really beating my son :)