Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

In 2018, my husband, a chemical engineer, alerted me to the chemical composition of JUUL vapes. The flavored nicotine salts were highly addictive. JUUL was squarely targeting affluent youth with their products. The school health department (a big thank you to Julie Fenn and team) had been educating parents about ENDS—Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems. But JUUL was so much more. Meanwhile, I was finding empty JUUL packages at the crosswalk between Fiske and Diamond Schools. 

I alerted the School Committee and Superintendent to the threat. JUUL had the money and the marketing machine, and the law was not reacting fast enough. Hoping that we could save many LPS children, my husband and I donated a large sum to start a counter campaign. Progress was slow. Then, in December 2019, national headlines finally caught up, the state attorney generals sued, and… COVID.

During Covid, there were many moments of grace. Asian affinity groups in town made protective gear available to school and town employees. We ran vaccine clinics. As successive waves swamped the healthcare systems of Delhi, I was sent a personal check to donate where needed. Another group gave me boxes of protective gear which I shipped to a Sikh Gurudwara’s emergency unit. Lexington came together locally to help globally. 

Last week, we finally approved IJNDBA – Acceptable Use Policy for cell phones, computers, etc—a small step towards combating the third pandemic: harmful social media, AI, and adult content. The amended policy is written with a district protective lens. It puts guardrails around district-provided devices. Now we need guardrails around content with a student-protective lens. Of course, policies are worth nothing unless put into action, and supported by the parent-caregiver community. 

We grab a child’s hand when crossing a road, we need to grab their hand on the information superhighway. Can we come together locally to protect them from global multinationals?

Best,

Deepika Sawhney

(School Committee Member 2018-2025, Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member)

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