Pubdate: Wed, 26 Mar 2003
Source: St. Paul Journal, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2003 - St. Paul Journal
Contact:  http://www.spjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2368
Author: Todd MacKay

STUDENTS DARE MAKING DIFFERENCE DOWN THE ROAD

Grade 11 students are much older and wiser than they were in Grade 6. But 
members of the Grade 11 class at the St. Paul Regional High School look to 
remember some of the lessons they learned during their last year of 
elementary school.

This particular Grade 11 class has the distinction of being the first class 
to graduate from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) course.

"We got to miss class," says Jacqueline Caouette.

"And we got shirts out of the deal," says Allison Heffner.

Getting a shirt and a break from the grind of Grade 6 isn't all the 
students gained from the program. The DARE program has a uniformed RCMP 
officer teach 17 classes about everything from the physiological effects of 
drugs to issues such as self-esteem and peer pressure. But the program 
wasn't simply academic.

"We got to do skits," remembers Jason Dembicki. "They were funny. We got to 
do whatever it took for the class to make sense." "We even had our 
fingerprints taken," says Kara Logozar.

The fun and games had a purpose. Heffner says the DARE program presented 
the consequences of different life paths and how some send lives down the 
drain. Issues such as drug and alcohol abuse seem like topics Grade 6 
students shouldn't need to know about, but the Grade 11's say the timing 
was good. "It's good because that's when young teens are learning about a 
lot of things," says Heffner.

"It's better than in high school," agrees Caouette. "By that time they 
won't listen because they've already tried a lot of things." The prevalence 
of drugs in St. Paul and area is another good reason for programs like 
DARE, according to the students. They say most students their age have 
experimented with drugs. DARE's weakness is that it didn't go into enough 
detail about many drugs and the consequences of using them. The program 
focused on marijuana and alcohol, but didn't give much information about 
others such as ecstasy.

Information aside, the students say simply having a positive example is 
important. "It's good to see someone with a good job saying you don't have 
to use [drugs or alcohol] to be a good person," says Logozar.
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MAP posted-by: Beth