At Hillsboro’s Glencoe High School, Shaayan Sinha, a student, experienced an issue.
He claimed that instead of having courses or anything similar, he was always met with a dense cloud of vapor from pupils who were vaping against school rules whenever he entered a washroom.
He claimed that the mere thought of using the restroom made him anxious and afraid.
It’s likely that most of us would have just ignored it and carried on with our lives. However, Sinha wanted to take action to stop vaping on school grounds.
He therefore looked to legislation.
Senate Bill 544, a one-page measure that would mandate that high schools with more than 1,500 pupils put vaping-detection devices in restrooms and common areas, is being driven by the 15-year-old sophomore. He convinced Janeen Sollman, a Democrat from Hillsboro, to sponsor the bill, and he is currently urging other lawmakers to do the same.
Some have met with Sinha and expressed support. Requests to meet have been dismissed by others. Others, well, have been, to put it mildly, less helpful.
He acknowledged that he had experienced some difficulties.
However, he expressed gratitude despite the challenging talks.
“I am thankful that I have gained a great deal of knowledge about the Oregon Legislature and its operations,” he stated.
Although a hearing has not been scheduled, the bill has been forwarded to the Senate Education Committee.
Sinha started his research by compiling information on the rising use of e-cigarettes among young people. He grew increasingly frightened as he discovered more.
For instance, according to estimates from the Oregon Health Authority in 2019, one out of every four 11th students in the state vaped. According to the health authority, e-cigarette use among youth increased by 80% between 2017 and 2019. Citing a 2019 study that revealed vapers are three times more likely to start smoking cigarettes, state health officials have issued a warning that vaping can result in addiction.
Similar to smoking traditional cigarettes, vaping is prohibited in public places like schools. Students can use e-cigarettes in restrooms and other places without much concern about being discovered because the vapor from the devices can be difficult to detect without specialist equipment.
Students, teachers, administrators, school board members, and city councilors were among the people Sinha shared his results with. He eventually ran upon Sollman, whose district includes Glencoe High School, in a coffee shop.
According to Sollman, Sinha first asked her to draft legislation requiring vaping detectors at big Oregon high schools.
Sinha’s information regarding vaping worried Sollman. For the 15-year-old, however, she made a counteroffer: Why not present a bill to MPs yourself? According to her, it was a chance for a student to gain firsthand knowledge of the legislative process.
The legislative counsel’s office used Sinha’s problem statement and suggested solution, which he authored in collaboration with Sollman’s team, to draft the law. To distribute to politicians, he prepared a one-page document outlining the plan. Additionally, he has been trying to meet with as many lawmakers as he can.
Sinha intends to testify on its behalf if it is given a hearing and he is aware that many legislation do not.
Sinha is aware of a few of the possible objections: Schools may view the law as an unfunded obligation since it fails to specify a source of money for the detectors, which can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 each.
According to Sinha, this is one of the reasons the bill only applies to high schools with 1,500 or more students. Based on enrollment data from the Oregon Department of Education, the bill would only impact roughly three dozen high schools in the state.
Additionally, he stated that districts may be able to locate additional funding sources. For instance, the Pendleton School District was awarded a $50,000 grant by the Wild Horse Foundation to put vaping devices in its high school.
Arguments that the bill makes vaping illegal were refuted by Sinha: Instead, he claimed, it makes it possible for schools to more effectively monitor policy infractions and stipulates that suspension or expulsion cannot be used as a district’s punishment for infractions.
A political career may be possible as a result of Sinha’s intensive training in legislative affairs.
Yes, it could if that were part of his professional goals.
He declared, “I truly want to work in medicine as a neurosurgeon.” My strong interest in pursuing a career in politics is not the only reason I’m working on this measure. I genuinely want to find a solution to this problem because it was quite common in my neighborhood and I want to improve things there.
— Oregon Capital Chronicle’s Mike McInally
The Oregon Capital Chronicle is a nonprofit news organization that was established in 2021.
