SURVEY: D.A.R.E. FAILING STUDENTS

HOWELL -- The effectiveness of the DARE program was recently
questioned by a Howell High School senior who conducted a survey of
fellow students.

T.J. Zawacki, a frequent contributor to the school's newspaper called
the Main Four, surveyed 480 students, about 20 percent of the student
body.

What Zawacki found disappointed him.

While more than 90 percent of the surveyed students went through the
DARE program, 55 percent of them said they had experimented with drugs
after completing DARE training. Of the students who had never
participated in DARE, 50 percent said they had experimented with drugs.

Zawacki concluded that kids who want to experiment with drugs will do
so, whether they participate in DARE or not.

"Basically, there are two types of people who have gone through DARE,"
Zawacki said. "They are either people who think everything should be
experimented with, or they are kids who will listen ... and don't need
to try it themselves."

Zawacki regularly volunteers to talk to fifth-graders in the DARE
program, explaining to them how he has managed to stay away from drugs
and alcohol.

"DARE is not the prominent reason students choose to remain drug
free," Zawacki said. "The main reason for choosing to experiment or
remain drug-free is whether or not they have a curiosity or a desire
to experiment."

Nevertheless, Zawacki said he will continue to participate and support
the DARE program because "it is a good program that offers helpful
information."