This past week a forum was held at Massapequa High to remind students about the importance of making the right decisions. In that particular instance the focus was on drinking and driving but that is not the only situation where students have to make responsible choices.

Just over a week ago two Massapequa teenagers were arrested for making a bomb and bringing it to Tackapausha Park Preserve. Only last month two Plainedge students were arrested for calling bomb threats into the high school. These youngsters made certain choices and are now going to suffer the consequences of these choices. The choices they made may not have cost them their lives but how will those decisions affect the quality of their and their families' futures?

In considering the responsibility of choice, one must not only consider the affect of their choices on themselves but also how their decisions will affect others.

For those who choose to drink and drive they are taking their own lives and the lives of others into their hands. It is a potentially fatal mistake, as the friends and families of the Massapequa High School students who were killed in December learned. These choices cannot be undone so it is vital that the correct choices be made early on.

For those who think it is funny to call in bomb threats or even to make a bomb, they will learn the true seriousness of the situation as they face criminal penalties. In the wake of the school shootings and bombings that have taken place in the past year these incidents cannot be taken lightly. For one reason or another these youngsters have chosen to make a very destructive decision.

The decisions that students make cannot be taken lightly. Yes, they are young, but their decisions can have potentially fatal results.

Schools and communities are making the right decision to instill in students the importance of their choices. If the right choices are made now lives and futures may be saved.

-Susie Trenkle