Pubdate: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 Source: Kansas City Star (MO) Copyright: 2004 The Kansas City Star Contact: http://www.kcstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/221 Author: Eugene Scott Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Red+Ribbon (Red Ribbon Week) STUDENTS TAKE LEAD IN ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS THIS WEEK Three Shawnee Mission Northwest student groups are trying to convince their classmates that it's possible to have fun without alcohol and drugs. This week, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Students Taking a New Direction (STAND) and Seeing Consequences and Reality Education (SCARE) are hosting Red Ribbon Week, a national event that encourages sobriety. Northwest has hosted Red Ribbon Week in the past, but this year's event is as much about having fun as it is about spreading an important message. The organizations are hosting pep rallies featuring the Shawnee Mission Northwest Marching Cougar Pride band and the Spirit Club. A disc jockey plays music during lunch periods. And students who commit to being drug free receive candy, red ribbons and opportunities to compete in games. To signify their status, seniors will receive bracelets instead of red ribbons. SADD, STAND and SCARE members have solicited the help of other student organizations to reach as many students as possible. The reasoning is that students are more likely to listen to their peers than adults when talking about serious issues, organizers said. But organizers aren't worried that the abundance of fun activities will drown out Red Ribbon Week's important message. After the fun and games of the week pass, at least one of the students will make a presentation about his personal experience with drugs. SCARE usually makes presentations about substance abuse prevention at middle schools, and has traveled to schools in Osage City, Kan., and Slater, Mo. But Tim (not his real name), a senior, hopes especially to get the attention of others in his class this week. "When you're a senior, you've got senioritis and you think you have to go all out for your last year and you think you can't get in trouble," Tim said. (His real name is not used because he is a minor and because of his past behavior.) But Tim wants all students to realize that while trouble may not seem like an immediate problem, there are definitely consequences to destructive decisions. "He feels very passionate about reaching other students, so that maybe they won't make the same mistakes he did," said Tim's mother. Although he's active in the student groups, Tim's senior year is only his second year in the organizations. He spent his first two years of high school in rehabilitation, which limited his extracurricular activities. Tim used illegal drugs and alcohol for the first time as a seventh-grader in middle school. He was a short, overweight kid with dreams of being an athlete like his father. But more than anything else, he wanted to fit in. "I saw these popular kids who were the stoners, and I attended a party that I wasn't even invited to with the popular kids, and that night I did drugs for the first time," he said. In an effort to become more popular, Tim went on to use more drugs. But a series of negative and dangerous experiences led to his decision to go sober.Many students don't see the repercussions of substance abuse, Tim said, so this Red Ribbon Week, SADD, STAND and SCARE want to educate students about the immediate and long-term consequences. In his presentations, he talks about the affects substance abuse had on him physically and mentally. With three organizations and the assistance of other students, he believes Red Ribbon Week won't fall on deaf ears. "I've had friends die from overdoses and drunk-driving accidents. I don't want to go to anymore funerals, and I don't think anybody else should have to," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek