DARE PROGRAM DRIVES HOME CLEAR MESSAGE

Students See Dangers Of Drugs, Violence

BERKELEY -- The dangers of drugs, alcohol, gangs and violence were spelled
out to 291 fifth-graders by U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie.

They knew the lessons well already, considering they were the first class
at the new Berkeley Township Elementary School to graduate from the Drug
Abuse Resistance Education program, better known as DARE.

And besides, it could have been worse.

"Lucky for you, you only have to listen to me this morning," Christie joked
during an aside in his keynote address. "(My fifth-grade son) has to listen
to me every day."

The jovial attitude was part of a 90-minute celebration for students who
completed the state-mandated curriculum to warn them about some of
society's tempting dangers. The program is led by police officers who teach
classes, but is bolstered by involving school officials and parents so
youngsters get the message.

In Berkeley, where Sgt. David Britton was recently named New Jersey DARE
Officer of the Year -- which kept the prize in Ocean County following
Tuckerton Officer Matthew Caufield's win last year -- the message is loud,
clear and vivid.

Kalyph Hardy, 11, didn't need the U.S. attorney, or even Britton, to scare
him. A video about alcohol abuse -- in which a child's stomach was pumped
- -- did that trick.

"If you're a kid and you drink alcohol, they can stick a tube down your
throat and remove all the poison," Kalyph said Friday. "We watched a movie
about it and the kid was crying."

Michelle Bruno, also 11, said the DARE program made her realize how
friendly police officers can be and how children should trust them.

"They could talk to us in a way that we can understand," Michelle said.
"Like you shouldn't drink, smoke or do marijuana because they give you lots
of cancers and kill you."

But bad news wasn't the story in the new school's Veterans Auditorium. The
guest appearance of New Jersey's top law enforcement official was.

Christie, a father of four -- including a fifth-grade son in Morristown --
said the students now know the dangers of criminal and destructive
activity, so it's up to them to use the knowledge.

"You have an enormous gift God has given you between your ears," he said.
"You can do great things in life by using that. . . . Someone told me that
30 years ago and now you can see me standing here.

"It came true. And it can come true for you."

To give the youngsters a head start, each was presented with a certificate
for graduating the four-week DARE program. Essay and poster winners were
singled out for their successes, but every student's name was read aloud by
their teacher so everyone felt special.

"The important people here today are you," Christie said.

Lisa Ciullo, mother of graduating fifth-grader Stephen and three other
boys, said all of the people are important. She thanked school and police
for running the program, which she said becomes even more important in the
age of terrorism and Internet predators.

"You saw the rounds of applause," Ciullo said. "To pledge to stay away from
the garbage out there, it's wonderful."