NEW DRUG CAMPAIGN GETS MIXED REVIEWS -- AREA PARENTS SAY MESSAGE IS IMPORTANT

Just say no.

That's the simple warning students got about drugs during the Reagan era.

Suburban residents remember it well. It was the start of such programs as
Drug Awareness Resistance Education, commonly known as DARE.

But today's students are getting more sophisticated, more expensive
messages, thanks to President Clinton and a $2 billion advertising campaign.

The campaign, which began Thursday, is aimed at bombarding students with
hard-core messages about the dangers of drugs and the importance of
parental involvement.

Suburban parents have mixed reactions about whether the television, radio
and newspaper ads will work, and about the amount of money being spent on
the campaign.

"Certainly you want that message to get out," said Donna Baiocchi, a
Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 school board member. "But that
kind of money should be allocated to address problems in our community."

She said she doubts students will take notice of the commercials,
especially if they are played during a "disrespectful sitcom or violent
program."

"I can't imagine that it's going to affect more than one or two children in
District 54," she said.

But one or two is all that matters, said Bartlett parent Karen Carney.

"We need to make a difference one kid at a time," said Carney, an Elgin
Area Unit District 46 school board member.

She said the advertisements will be successful because "kids listen when
they are bombarded."

Besides, she said, the more information they have, the better.

Rolling Meadows DARE officer Tony Luzin agrees. Despite a recent study that
said suburban children who took DARE showed a slightly higher use of
alcohol and drugs than those who never had the program, the "say no to
drugs" message should be pushed as often as possible, Luzin said.

In fact, he said, it needs to be pushed continually from the time the
students leave the DARE programs, which often are in fifth or sixth grades.

That's what Arlington Heights resident Debbie Lange would like to see. She
knows the drug messages hit home to younger children, though she's not so
sure it will stick with them as they grow up.

"When they are little, the awareness is there. They know they aren't
supposed to do that and that drugs are stupid," she said. "Whether they
carry that same attitude when they get older, I'm not so sure."