Pubdate: Sun, 08 Jun 2003
Source: Finger Lakes Times (NY)
Copyright: Finger Lakes Times 2003
Contact:  http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1206
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2074
Author: Brian P. Heffron

STUDENTS DISCUSS HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

PHELPS -- Midlakes students hosted a healthy lifestyles conference last 
weekend, drawing nearly 200 middle school and high school students from as 
far away as Buffalo.

The district's Youth-To-Youth Club and the Ontario County Reality Check 
chapter co-sponsored the overnight conference, in which students discussed 
the dangers of drugs, alcohol, AIDS and other health issues.

"We hope they came away with a positive message," said Kristin Wrobbel, a 
school social counselor at the Midlakes middle and high schools.

The conference was organized and attended by 68 local students after being 
rescheduled from April 5 to 6, the weekend of the ice storm. Events 
included a movie, a dance, workshops and two speakers: girls and boys slept 
Saturday night in separate areas of the gymnasium.

Former comedian Sky Sands, of Rochester, spoke about overcoming obstacles 
and adopting a positive outlook. Christopher Lloyd, a former television 
producer who said he grew disenchanted with the media, told students how to 
read and interpret media messages.

Lloyd, who spoke at Midlakes and several other local districts last year, 
again showed business and public information commercials, including one 
about a 32-year-old Massachusetts man who suddenly dropped dead at his desk 
from congestive heart failure. Although he was fit and had no history of 
heart problems, smoking had made his blood vessels so sticky that fatty 
deposits built up on them until the vessels were completely blocked.

In the commercial, a person in surgical garb squeezed the man's aorta -- 
and about two tablespoons of fatty deposits oozed out. "Youth-to-Youth 
isn't only about drugs. It's about positive life-styles," said club 
president Ben Weidman, a 16-year-old junior from Clifton Springs.

Weidman said the conference was important for reassuring students that 
there are alternatives to drugs and alcohol, and that many teens are 
choosing those alternatives.

Weidman is also one of two youth board members from Ontario County Reality 
Check, a national anti-tobacco organization spawned by the national tobacco 
settlement. The group, organized regionally, falls under the supervision of 
Prevention Partners in Monroe County. Ontario County students meet in 
Canandaigua.

"Any program that we do that focuses kids on being drug-free and 
substance-free is of great value to kids, and this is an organization that 
is focused on bringing positive students together with positive values and 
it's a benefit to our school," said Superintendent Mike Ford.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Alex