There is a pathway that winds its way through Yarmouth that should serve as a reminder to us all. Fifteen-year-old Beth Condon was run down by a drunk driver almost 20 years ago and the town was so moved by the tragedy that a pathway was built to honor her and to protect others. Many lives changed forever that day, none for the better.
So as we debate the veracity of the honor code and its constitutionality, we shouldn’t forget the bigger picture. All teenagers chafe at rules and push limits, we did too, but as a community we need to help them understand their emerging responsibility to the larger world. These are all good kids, but we can’t expect them to know what life experience hasn’t taught them. We need to tell them. Our schools need to tell them. Edgar Allen Beem needs to tell them. Maybe the honor code needs to be reviewed, but we should always keep the mountaintop in clear view.
Let’s hope that the rhetoric softens, cooler heads prevail and we wind up in a better place as a result. Maybe a walk along the pathway would benefit everyone involved.
Peter McGrail
Yarmouth
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