Excerpts 31
Alcohol and Drug Abuse
As the following excerpts show, schools and local communities are addressing alcohol and drug abuse in a variety of ways and with some success:"[Re: Drug and alcohol awareness program)Throughout the whole day every eight to ten minutes someone would come to a classroom and take out one student, paint his or her face white and put a sign on him that said 'Don't talk to me, I'm just a memory.' The rest of the day that person was asked not to speak to anyone. This had an enormous effect on the student body because your best friend could be one of the people dying of alcohol or drug abuse. This made you think who would be left to talk to or hang out with if one of us were to die. Making us aware that we could lose a friend was a great thing for the student council to do." Emily Wiatrek, Falls City High School, Falls City, Texas"Parents today have a major responsibility, trying to keep their teens away from alcohol. That's where Amazing Alternatives Home Program comes in. ... This program emphasizes the fact that it is important for parents to verbalize their disapproval of alcohol use." Angie Guthrie, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota"The Reader's Digest Foundation challenged U.S. advertising agencies to create hard-hitting anti-drunk-driving posters. The winning posters were then sent out to selected high schools to be used as part of programs against drunk driving." Sherri Koltes, DeForest High School, DeForest, Wisconsin"Some pro football players from the championship Dallas Cowboys, like Emmitt Smith, donate their free time to got to schools and hospitals to tell kids the effects of alcohol and other drugs. Other teams like the Denver Broncos are also starting to catch on and inform the youth of America that they don't have to drink and do drugs to fit in. Kenny Dykstra, who currently plays professional baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies, was once involved in a drunk driving accident. Kykstra was driving the car. After the accident, Dykstra went sober and started preaching the effects that drinking and driving can have on people." Mark Hegbloom, Wallace High School, Wallace, Idaho"I've decided to make some personal contributions that may not change the world, but will better myself and hopefully some people around me...Many of my friends are users and I try to help them. I don't preach, but try to let them know the mistakes they're making. I don't hold it against my friends, I just make them aware that I care a great deal about them. My last contribution, but yet probably the most important is the promise to myself to refrain from illegal drug usage. I don't need drugs to have fun or 'take away' my problems." Jaime Ellerman, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania"At the college level, a group called Bacchus has 200 campus chapters that encourage students to moderately use alcohol, if they use it at all. Bacchus stands for Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students and its also the name of the Roman god of wine. The organization's projects include a designated driver program, in which one student agrees to remain sober for the evening, and offers free taxis for students with no safe way home from a party. Bacchus chapters sponsor coffee houses and alcohol-free parties and urge fraternities and sororities to provide nonalcoholic beverages at their parties." Brad Hoffman, DeForest High School, DeForest, Wisconsin"Our school has a Youth Alliance program which facilitates drug and alcohol free activities. The middle school has now formed their own branch." Angela Nicholson, DeForest High School, DeForest, Wisconsin"Alcohol Education Program (AEP) is an organization which uses high school students as teacher assistants. Student receive training during the summer to become peer leaders. These trained students then [conduct] after-school discussion groups with other students [where they] discuss fears and questions they have about alcohol and drinking." Sherri Koltes, DeForest High School, DeForest, Wisconsin"A group of parents called In-Touch provides safe, alcohol, and drug-free events for students to attend on weekends." Michael J. Pyle, Niantic-Harristown High School, Niantic, Illinois"SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) encourages safe-ride pledges, alcohol free proms, and other activities without alcohol. They are turning peer pressure around so that kids are pressured not to drink." Charity Persson, Lincoln County High School, Eureka, Montana"DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Ğequips children with the knowledge that illegal drugs are bad for them. In our school, this program is directed at the 5th and 6th grade-[students]. This program shows the importance of staying away from drugs and alcohol and works to build the students' self esteem." Benjamin Deubner, Froid High School, Froid, Montana"In Saline county, the DARE program used an $8,000 grant to purchase a sophisticated video camera to tape kids reading their commitments not to use drugs. The tape is then played back to them when they need it. The camera has also been used to film students performing skits about avoiding drinking and driving and resisting anger. To the students, it's like being on TV. They use professional lighting and use AC/DC music in their videos. They talk about their dreams and how they want to accomplish them and how drugs and alcohol would affect them. This is believed to be the only program of its kind in Kansas." Audra Goracke, Kensington High School, Kensington, Kansas "The Prom Promise Act is a contract that says that on prom night the particular student who is signing the contract will not consume any drug or alcohol that night." Kate Manbeck, Conrad Weiser High School, Robesonia, Pennsylvania"In our local area, grad night volunteers hold a yearly no drugs-no alcohol party for seniors of each high school. All graduates are invited and given the opportunity to party with their friends in a safe environment. These parties are supported by parents, teachers and community businesses. Statistics prove their time and effort is well spent." Kevin Gilman, Phoenix High , Phoenix, Oregon"R.A.D.D is a new organization formed by a very unique group of people. R.A.D.D. stands for Recording Artists Against Drunk Driving. A large number of very famous music artists worked together to create a music video against drinking and driving." Sherri Koltes, DeForest High School, DeForest, Wisconsin"Another good aspect is the decrease in the usage of drugs by teenagers. Many black teens have seen first hand the effects of drugs, causing them to quit or [better still] never start. Also, drug prevention classes are often found in schools and kids attend regularly. Likewise, they warn against the effects of drugs at a younger age." Sara Knobloch, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois"On a good note, of those polled, black students were the group that reported the lowest number of illegal and legal drug abuse, throughout all high school grades. (Poll = University of Michigan with National Institute on Drug Abuse.)" Jason Allen, Kiona-Benton High School, Benton City, WashingtonPositive Use Of The Media"As with most topics, by digging a little deeper you can find the positive aspects of the media. The new show Ghostwriter is a good example. The Children's Television Workshop, the same producers of Sesame Street, has invested $21 million in the new show. Ghostwriter promotes literacy by making its characters read to solve mysteries. Viewers at home must do the same. Ghostwriter is a hit and has been rated as one of the top children's shows in its class." Mara Bergeron, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota"Not all television is useless in teaching our children. Recently on the news, I saw a story about a young boy who called 911 when his neighbor's house was on fire. He gave them his address, and the fire department arrived in time to save the house. When the child was asked how he knew to do this, he said that Barney, the purple dinosaur, had told him what to do in case of a fire." Nickie Ballard, Camden High School, Camden, Tennessee"One great way of showing the consequences of drunk driving is on TV shows. On popular shows, such as Life Goes On and Melrose Place, they have had stars die and injured due to drunk driving. This is a way of getting people to see what an irresponsible act can do since many people see actresses, actors and athletes as their idols." Jessica Moen, DeForest High School, DeForest, Wisconsin"MTV has become a media tool for reaching the minds of young citizens. Many kids watch this station and are starting to see ads and promos for anti-violence groups. Free Your Mind is one of the first groups to use MTV for this purpose. Their organization tries to raise awareness of racism. Many people face racial violence everyday and this group serves as the light at the end of the tunnel. Free Your Mind deals with racism against all races, languages, sexes, ages, religions and beliefs. Young people are responding positively to these ads so far. Another group using the MTV airwaves is Silence The Violence. This organization protests the use and manufacturing of handguns. They have not yet caught on with the teen crowd, but there is promise of some good for the future." Kevin Gilman, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon"Although many people may not realize it, television talk-shows which deal with social problems are of great assistance to viewers who share the same problems." Petra Thipkhosithkun, Carbondale High School, Carbondale, Illinois"Many people even use television to reverse the violence and indecency usually placed on the screen. the Oprah Winfrey Show, for instance, recently had a show on how to deal with violence seen on television which has become almost accepted as a daily occurrence. There was also a show teaching families how important family time can be and how to create time for it. This, like many other shows of it's kind, puts forth effort to resolve such problems rather than increase them." Pervis Evans, Lubbock-Cooper High School, Lubbock, Texas We mentioned Oprah Winfrey in connection with "Random Acts of Kindness" in the Foundation's 1994 book titled White Hats. Oprah has become a wonderful role model for millions of people. She has testified before Congress on behalf of abused children and given generously of her wealth to countless worthwhile programs. We recently heard her activities and her example described as "The Oprah greenhouse affect; a global warming that goes on and on." "A Sioux Falls television station, KDLT, has an award for teachers. This award is called Teachers Who Make A Difference. This awards teachers who make learning fun, interesting and worthwhile. Teachers are nominated by a letter from students describing what the teacher does. This award is given every month with a ceremony at the school." Jana Cooey, Centerville High Centerville, South Dakota"Hollywood has always been influential in the opinions of our country. Many times this has been negative, but a new movie is attempting to make a positive step in the direction of reducing the prejudice of AIDS. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am speaking of Philadelphia, the masterful film starring Tom Hanks. This is the first mainstream film to discuss the issues of homosexuality and AIDS, and its success shows that maybe our country is ready to face facts and handle this topic." Jonathan W. Sweet, DeForest High School, DeForest, Wisconsin"Every week, my local newspaper selects the persons of the week, usually one adult and one youth, based on the things they have done to make a difference in the community. This is a very motivating article. It gives everyone the message that they can make a difference and gives them ideas of what they can do." Jenny Deppen, Conrad Weiser High School, Robesonia, PennsylvaniaMany newspapers encourage readers to submit names of people who devote their time to helping others. Locally the San Jose Mercury News publishes what they call the Doers Profile. Submittals are sent to the religion and ethics editor. Also in California, the Herald in Monterey has a weekly feature, Putting Children First, describing active programs in the community as well as a weekly ethics column written by local ministers or the general public and titled In Other Words. These publications are duplicated across the nation under other headings. The purpose of the Harry Singer Foundation's high school White Hats chapters is threefold: (1) to encourage those newspapers who do not yet have this kind of program,(2) to honor those who do, and (3) to seek out new media outlets for positive and inspirational information.Educational information should also be encouraged, for the reasons stated by Michael in the excerpt below:"The Decatur Advantage sponsors a competition called Running the U.S. Economy. It teaches high school students basic economic principles and gives valuable business lessons to the future leaders of Decatur." Michael J. Pyle, Niantic-Harristown High School, Niantic, Illinoisyle, Niantic-Harristown High School, Niantic, Illinois
