Following a party last week involving underage drinking, school officials have started the process of disciplining high school students who were involved.
At about 8 p.m. on Nov. 10, police broke up a drinking party on Lincoln Road, taking 17 high-schoolers into custody, said Deputy Police Chief Scott Bushway.
No arrests were made, he said, but police notified the parents of the 17 teens.
School was not in session the next day, which was Veterans Day.
In speaking with students involved in the matter, Walpole High Principal Alan Bernstein said he believed 30 or more students attended the party. According to police reports, several students ran from the scene of the party and got away.
Officials said administrators and police worked together in a weeklong investigation on the matter but could not identify any of the students who fled the party.
Even though no arrests were made, school Superintendent Lincoln Lynch said the School Department has the authority to discipline students who were involved.
"It's troubling the amount of teenage drinking going on," he said. "It's a continuous battle."
The schools conducted a weeklong investigation into the matter with the help of police, Walpole High's Bernstein said. This past Monday he sent letters home to the parents of the 17 students, informing them of the school's disciplinary actions.
Under the high school's current current chemical health policy, athletes involved in the incident could lose playing eligibility for 25 percent of their games.
Students involved in extracurricular activities will be unable to participate in 25 percent of their organizations' meetings.
Those students who don't take part in sports or other activities can be banned from a social event such as a prom or homecoming and could lose any school executive office he or she holds.
"It mostly affects the athletes," Bernstein said, because of strict Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association guidelines.
Several football players, basketball players and cheerleaders attended the party, Bernstein said.
Names of those athletes and the other students involved could not be released because of student confidentially rules.
Bernstein said the School Department added the extracurricular and social event clauses to the handbook out of fairness.
Extracurricular events differ depending on the activity, he said, and there is some gray area on what the punishment should be.
"It's not as clear cut," he said. "We have to weigh that in."
Bernstein said at least one student, who doesn't play sports or participate in extracurricular activities, will face losing his or her privileges of attending school-sponsored social events.
That matter will continue to be evaluated, said Bernstein, who added the schools will decide what specific events the students in question will be denied admittance.
The clause enacting the loss of a social event is new to the school's chemical health policy this year, the principal said.
Last year, Bernstein worked with the School Committee to add the clause and rewrite the policy. There had been some clarity issues in previous years, he said.
"Now it's very, very clear what we're going after," Bernstein said, explaining that students must make the right decisions - they cannot say they were simply at a party and not drinking or that they were a designated driver.
Anyone found to be at a party with underage drinking, Bernstein stressed, will be disciplined by the school.
In a survey conducted earlier this year, 98 percent of parents of athletes reported they were clear about all of the alcohol policies, said Bernstein.
For the most part, he said, parents have been supportive and understanding, but some still avoid responsibility and search for loopholes.
"We're serious about the chemical policy," said Bernstein. "I'm hoping this sends a message to the kids: 'Don't do it"' and to the parents to monitor what their children are up to.
Although he is taking the matter seriously, Bernstein said things could have been worse.
"There were no drunk driving arrests. No one smashed up a car," he said. "No one was hurt, thankfully."
With the letters to parents issued, the incident has been just about closed, Bernstein said.
"We know we didn't get everyone, but we got a pretty good haul," said Bernstein. "We got who we got and that's that. This isn't a witch hunt either."
