My daughter is a 17-yearold junior at East Brunswick High School. On April 1 she was given a citation for smoking a cigarette on school grounds, which required her to appear in court. The student handbook she was given at the start of the school year noted that a first offense, which this was, would result in a Saturday detention.

I found out about the citation from my daughter on May 2 when she realized there was no way she could come up with enough money to pay the fine (which she was told would be $150). I never heard from the school. My daughter was told that if she could come up with the money on her own, she could go to court, pay the fine and her parents wouldn't have to find out.

When I spoke with the school, I was told it was an "oversight" that I was not contacted. Yet, I witnessed several youngsters in court without a parent and pacing the halls with cell phones trying to come up with an additional $300 to pay their fines.

Does it upset me that my daughter chose to smoke? Absolutely. Do I think the punishment suited the "crime" of smoking on school grounds? Not a chance. The severity of the punishment overshadowed the "crime" and made it hard for me to focus on the real issue.

When my daughter appeared in court, not one word was mentioned to her about the dangers of smoking. Instead, she was ordered to pay a fine of $300 plus court costs, which came to a whopping $458. What 17- year-old do you know has that kind of money? Although my daughter will be paying the fine by giving me $25 of her $60-a-week paycheck for the next 19 weeks, this astronomical fine puts the initial financial burden on the family.

As a recently widowed mother of three children, this is a burden I cannot afford, and I find it extremely unfair for the township to expect that of me. In a time when everyone is struggling to get by and unemployment rates are at an all-time high, the township is taking what is equivalent to a month's worth of groceries off the table because my daughter was caught with a cigarette.

Had I not been in complete shock after hearing the judge read the fine, I would have inquired about what would happen if I chose not to pay the fine for my daughter. Would she spend the night in jail? Would I? For getting caught smoking a cigarette? Has this world gone mad?

Do I think my daughter deserves to be punished for breaking the law/school policy? Yes, without a doubt; however, I think a more appropriate action would be to have her attend a smoking-cessation class and/or provide some community service or be given a Saturday detention. Why not put the punishment back where it belongs, on the child?

I personally felt victimized walking out of that courtroom. What is the lesson here? If you do something wrong and you don't have the money to pay, your parents will bail you out? You can buy your way out of trouble if you have the money? What you are saying here is if you have money, do whatever you want.

I do everything I can to steer my children in the right direction; however, there are plenty of outside influences that get in the way of their better judgment, which sometimes results in them making poor choices. This is how they learn and is all a part of growing up. This outrageous fine taught my daughter nothing about the dangers of smoking, but it was a huge lesson in injustice, and East Brunswick should be ashamed.

Had the consequences of the action been communicated and posted clearly, i.e., "Violation of the No-Smoking Act will result in a fine of $458," I'm sure it would deter many young people from lighting up. In fact, it seems as though the information is withheld intentionally. Considering there is not a single sign posted with the penalty clearly defined, one can only assume that the punishment is not to protect the welfare of students and teachers but is used as a way to generate huge revenue for the township.
Dani Majewski
East Brunswick