Three Chicago Teens Earn "Darwin Award"

by *Buckaroo* Mon 24 Nov 2008, 04:54

America polishing its next generation ..

School and students react to drowning of classmates

Three Chicago teens drowned this morning in the Fox River in Algonquin after one of their paddleboats sank. Authorities said the boat's cork-size bottom plug had been removed to take it out of service for the winter.

(...)

The three teens, two seniors and a junior at North Lawndale College Prep, a charter high school at 1615 S. Christiana Ave., were on the last day of an eight-day leadership retreat at Camp Algonquin, 1889 Cary Rd., said Julie Didier, a spokeswoman for the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District.

There were 31 students on the retreat with four adult supervisors from their school, said Linda Fauser, director of the YMCA camp. She said the students were all housed in one building and had been told to stay away from the water.

The paddleboats had not been stored away and had been left on the ground, said Sgt. Brett Scroggins of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which is heading the investigation.

At the West Side school, one of the stellar and more innovative charter schools in the city with a nearly 100 percent graduation rate, some students were seen leaving the building in tears. Others embraced in front of the school.

"People aren't doing too good," said one student who declined to give his name.