Local students examine the ways and means of living ethical lives
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

HARD CHOICES- From left, Bobby Nordound, 16, of Westlake Village; Brett Everett, 16, of Calabasas; and Karen Quigley of Thousand Oaks, a Rotary Club member, discuss moral issues involving youth during the Homer Dickerson Youth Ethics Conference.

Fifty local business leaders joined 140 area high school students in a deep discussion last month about living an ethical life.

The annual Homer Dickerson Youth Ethics Conference convened March 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

Participating high schools included Oaks Christian, Westlake, Agoura, Oak Park and Calabasas.

"I wanted to come today to be able to learn from other people how they view the world in terms of ethics and social responsibility," said Brandon Lippincott, 17, a junior from Calabasas.

"Getting to interact with kids from other schools who I might not get the chance to meet is beneficial," added Chloe Acquavella, 17, from Oaks Christian.

Organized by the Rotary Club of Westlake Village, the event honors Homer Dickerson, who was a Rotary member from 1978-90. A local minister for nearly four decades, Dickerson served as chaplain for the Rotary Club and for Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.

"Homer Dickerson was one of the most ethical people on earth," said Bill Notthoff, a conference organizer.

The event began with breakfast, welcome speeches and a keynote address by Reagan Library deputy director Dr. John Langellier, a former United States Department of Defense staff member. Langellier gave a biography of Reagan with specific examples of how the former president had lived an ethical life from childhood through his presidency.

"I hope you'll take some life lessons with you today so that when one of you reaches the White House someday you can say 'I was as good or better than Ronald Reagan,'" Langellier said.

The audience was then broken up into groups made up of students from different schools and led by business leaders, including Karen Drew, general manager of Professional Binding Production in Newbury Park.

"The goal is to provide students with a richer insight into ethical awareness," Drew said as she led a group of seven students from various schools.

Discussion focused on two dilemmas involving teens and the use of drugs and alcohol, and on student behavior toward pupils with special needs. Participants were asked what they would do if put into such situations. Each group compiled an answer to present to the entire audience at the conclusion of the event.

"It's rather amazing how students open up. Their minds, characters and integrity are being molded," Notthoff said. "This is a way to try to bring things out into the open and instill good ethics."

There were some differences of opinion in whether or not to report friends' abuse of alcohol or drugs. One student felt that individuals have a responsibility to society ethically and morally to let adults know if a student is using drugs or alcohol, even if it means risking the friendship. Others felt a responsibility to fellow teens to help them rather than involve an adult.

Additional comments revealed that some parents were okay with their children drinking alcohol as long as it was at a friend's home and that drinking alcohol is more socially acceptable than smoking marijuana.

"My friends and I think alike," said Sydney Adams, 16, of Calabasas High. "If he doesn't have the same morals or values as me, maybe he's not a friend I'd want to keep."

Mae Greenwald, college and career counselor at Oak Park High, brought 15 students including junior Sean Richards, who said he enjoyed the conference and "liked the way they related it to situations we might have to go through."

"As a parent and educator the most wonderful thing I witnessed at this conference is the integrity and constitution of these kids," Greenwald said.