The betel nut war in schools

The power is out and I thought about the never-ending war most junior high and high schools have with betel nut, so you owe this one to CUC. I can remember in the early 90s when PSS’ assessment coordinator Domonic Buckley (may she rest in peace and God bless her soul) tried to get the Board not to adopt a policy banning betel nut. She was unsuccessful of course but more interesting is that her predictions did come true. She predicted there would be a never-ending battle to keep betel nut off campuses and a never-ending battle to keep the schools clean, not to mention the counterproductive disciplinary approach to controlling the use of betel nut on school campuses.

Here we are over a decade later and the level of betel nut chewing hasn’t changed that much at all from what I can tell. I’m sure some schools may claim to be the exception but in general the war still looms. Many of the businesses, offices and other public places have signs now, unlike a decade ago. We have even had a few serious battles at the school system with the seats on buses being used for spittoons. We are still disciplining and even suspending students for chewing on campus and sometimes to the point they miss an entire year of school from so many suspensions. We are still repainting and water blasting betel nut a decade later. I feel sorry for PSS and these students who are being punished, especially when their parents were not punished for doing the same thing. I’m sure people can see what we are doing isn’t working.

Betel nut is deeply rooted in the way of life for the indigenous people. If we took a vote, I’m sure the overwhelming majority of people would not want betel nut chewing banned in the CNMI. So if we are going to live with betel nut, why not learn how to meet everyone’s expectations. We do that through education—an education that should be taught at home but some students are not that fortunate and we must face the truth. Many students are not taught the “etiquette of chewing.” Many students are not practicing the proper behavior nor is it being reinforced at home. The school system has chosen only to punish students for chewing rather than educate them.

As Mrs. Buckley submitted in her explanation as to why we shouldn’t ban betel nut, the list of drug items on the federal list of banned drugs does not include betel nut, meaning it is not unlawful for students to chew anywhere so why create a war we don’t have to fight? The PSS leadership at the time wanted to impose the ban in hopes that it would decrease the use of betel nut on school campuses but it didn’t work. We all know from the real drug war that laws and policies are not the absolute answer, as education is the primary tool for transforming an entire society. We need to bring an end to the war on betel nut or we will be fighting it for decades to come on buses and at schools. It is better and cheaper to educate our students to be considerate, responsible and accountable for their chewing as opposed to sending them home to sit and do nothing and even fail their classes because of betel nut.

The Board can easily end the war on betel nut and help students, teachers and principals by allowing betel nut to be chewed in “free zones” inside campuses. Instead of punishing, we can institute expectations and begin to educate students through teaching moments and reinforcing the etiquette of chewing. Give students “ownership” in their campus and even require them to keep their Free Zones clean or they will be temporary closed until they are cleaned up. The Free Zone will certainly mean a great deal to students who want their own “spot” if you understand the culture of junior high and high schools and they will do what is proper and necessary to keep these zones clean—it’s the oldest parenting tool in the book. PSS needs to start thinking for PSS and stop depending so much on parents to do a job we are paid to do, which is their expectation these days. Maybe the present Board will look at this lesson from the past and consider creating a policy that is more symbiotic in the cultural relationship between betel nut chewing and our education, especially when the Board is looking for a COE to take risk because what’s good for the COE is also good for the BOE.