Students pledge to drug-free lifestyles during Red Ribbon Week

Horizon and other Madison elementary schools are observing Red Ribbon Week. In this photo, the Horizon Eagle encourages a student during a recent school project. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – “Love Yourself: Be Drug-Free” is appearing on Madison campuses as the 2014 slogan for Red Ribbon Week, observed Oct. 27-31.

Alexa Dougherty, a seventh-grader in Orange County, New York coined this year’s theme. Dougherty decided on the verbiage to show that individuals love themselves by refraining from drugs. (redribbon.org)

Locally, Madison teachers, administrators and parents work with police officers and fire fighters to raise awareness of harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.

Madison Elementary School’s population is taking a drug-free pledge and participating in dress-up days. Students wore caps or hats for “Put Your Thinking Cap on and Outsmart Drugs” Day.

Using red construction paper, Madison elementary students made and signed handprints to pledge restraint from drugs. Teachers attached all of the handprints to form an oversized red ribbon for display in the cafeteria.

On other days, the youngsters at Madison elementary wore their clothing backwards for “Don’t Let Drugs Turn You Around”; red clothes for “‘Red-y’ to Take Care of Me”; and sports jerseys for “Join a Team and Develop Dreams.”

Columbia Elementary School participated in both a school-wide drawing contest and a national contest for which families decorate their home’s front door, mailbox or fence for this year’s theme. Like most Madison schools, Columbia allowed out-of-the-ordinary clothes to support themes, like all red to represent love and caution, neon colors for a ‘bright’ future and storybook characters.

In the secondary schools, the discussion leans to more serious issues with Madison police officers warning against prescription drug abuse and the drug culture in Madison.

The first nationwide Red Ribbon campaign was held in 1985, led by National Family Partnership, a nonprofit organization founded in 1980. The Red Ribbon initiative resulted from the murder of Enrique Camarena, an agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency. Parents and young people across the United States wore red ribbons to symbolize their statement against the destruction that illegal drugs cause.

For more information, visit redribbon.org.