Pubdate: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 Source: Huntsville Item (TX) Copyright: 2007 Huntsville Item and Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. Contact: http://www.itemonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1126 Cited: National Family Partnership http://www.nfp.org Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Red+Ribbon+Week Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) HISD SETS RED RIBBON WEEK ACTIVITIES Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. It serves as a vehicle for communities and individuals to take a stand for the hopes and dreams of our children through a commitment to drug prevention and education and a personal commitment to live drug-free lives. Monday through Friday will be Red Ribbon Week for the Huntsville ISD. During this week, Huntsville students will be getting important information from their teachers and special guests about safety, being careful with medicines, and ways to say no to unsafe and unhealthy choices. To make this week more memorable and exciting, students and staff (and parents if you are visiting during the week) are encouraged to dress the following ways: Monday -- Sock It To Drugs! Wear crazy or mismatched socks. Tuesday -- Tip Your Hat - Being Drug Free! Wear a hat Wednesday -- "Red"y to Show Our Drug Free Character! Wear Red. Thursday -- Can't Hide Your Hornet Pride! Wear camouflage. Friday -- Team Up Against Drugs! Wear a shirt to support a team. Red Ribbon Week also commemorates the ultimate sacrifice made by DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who died at the hands of drug traffickers in Mexico while fighting the battle against illegal drugs to keep our country and children safe. Enrique "Kiki" Camarena grew up in a dirt-floored house with hopes and dreams of making a difference. He worked his way through college, served in the Marines and became a police officer. When he decided to join the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out it. "I can't not do this," he told her. "I'm only one person, but I want to make a difference." The DEA sent Camarena to work undercover in Mexico investigating a major drug cartel believed to include officers in the Mexican army, police and government. On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found in a shallow grave. He had been tortured to death. In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents, sick of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, had begun forming coalitions. Some of these new coalitions took Camarena as their model and embraced his belief that one person can make a difference. These coalitions also adopted the symbol of Camarena's memory, the red ribbon. The National Family Partnership organized the first nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign in 1988. Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children. In 1997, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse began committing resources to ensure the continuation of the Red Ribbon Campaign in Texas, as well as the hopes and beliefs behind this grassroots effort to protect children from the dangers of alcohol and other drugs. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake