Wednesday's Internet Edition, May 21, 2008.
Students at Liberty Drive Elementary take Red Ribbon Week 2005 seriously
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Features Editor
- Ask Liberty Drive Elementary School fifth-grader Khianna Bryant what she thinks of alcohol, and she will promptly offer a blunt opinion:
“Drinking will turn your dreams into nightmares,” she said Friday morning during a physical education class led by April Dominy. “It’s bad for you. And if I do drugs, I won’t get an education.”
Bryant and her classmates were listening to Dominy’s lesson on the dangers of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes as part of Liberty Drive’s Red Ribbon Week celebration.
Red Ribbon Week is an annual celebration that always takes place in late October. Schools across the country participate.
The goal has always been the same — a drive to make children pledge a drug-free life.
The week serves as tribute to U.S. Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was tortured and brutally murdered in March 1985 while invesigating drug trafficking in Mexico.
The National Family Partnership organized the first nationwide Red Ribbon campaign in 1988 to reduce the demand for and use of illegal drugs.
Since then, schools across the nation have honored those who have died while fighting the war on drugs. Approximately 80 million people participate in Red Ribbon events each year.
The national Red Ribbon campaign is America’s largest drug use prevention effort.
Thomasville City Schools (TCS) led a schoolwide celebration this week. Monday’s theme was, “I have better things to do than drugs.”
Tuesday’s theme was, “Respect yourself — don’t do drugs.”
On Wednesday, TCS celebrated “red day,” a day when students were encouraged to wear red to symbolize their refusal to do drugs. The day’s theme was, “Reach for the stars, not drugs.”
Thursday’s theme was, “I’m too good for drugs.” On that day, a Thomasville High School graduate and former drug dealer was featured at a school-wide assembly to speak on the effects of drug use.
Friday marked the celebration’s culmination. The day’s theme was, “I’ll be drug-free for life.”
At Liberty Drive, ann-ouncements are read over the P.A. system each morning. As part of the school’s character education program, students are told:“Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.”
And that was what Dominy stressed to students on Friday.
“The choice of whether to do drugs or not is yours,” Dominy said. “You can put your foot down and choose to lead a healthy, positive life, or you can resort to drugs and ruin your body and mind.”
The message was clear to Bryant and her class — they all pledged Friday to be drug-free forever.
“You shouldn’t do drugs, because then you could lose your family and your life,” student Nicholas Everhart said.
“If you drink too much, you might wreck in a car and hurt yourself or someone else, or it could be someone you love,” Desmond Wilson said.
“Dealing drugs could get you killed or murdered,” Juan Lopez added. “It’s not good.”
“Drugs make you strong on the outside, but they kill you on the inside,” Julian Loera said.
“Yeah,” added Jasmine Romero. “Drugs can get you so unhealthy that you die.”
“My biggest reason for not doing drugs is because I want to stay healthy and I don’t want to ruin my life,” Destiny Luckey said.
“I think drugs could turn your life into a scary movie,” Coty Wallace said. “Like a nightmare.”
(Oct. 29)