WEARING RED RIBBON SAYS 'NO' TO HASH BASH

A local group wants to take an anti-drug stand and is asking everyone who
is against Ann Arbor's annual Hash Bash to wear a red ribbon the week
before the April 5 event.

"I've used the red ribbons for the Drug-Free Youth celebration" a statewide
anti-substance abuse program that ran at the end of October, said Richie
Coleman, who heads the marketing and membership committee for Washtenaw
Community Partnership and is public safety community coordinator for the
Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety.

"This time, let's bring the ribbons back out to send another message."

Last year, about 5,000 people showed up on the University of Michigan Diag
for the Hash Bash, and police arrested about 65 people for smoking marijuana.

The partnership, funded with a five-year, $300,000 federal grant, brings
together schools, churches, community organizations and individuals who
want to do something to improve the community, Coleman said.

Besides the red ribbon campaign for the Hash Bash, Community Partnership
will continue to work on educating the public about drugs and their
effects, as well as collecting information on community resources.

And, in a year or so, the group might be able to organize an alternative to
the Hash Bash, Coleman said.

As an example, he said, the New Year's Jubilee in Ypsilanti every year
provides alcohol-free activities for people of all ages on New Year's Eve.

"Perhaps we should have another New Year Jubilee at another time of the
year," Coleman said, "like at the same time as the Hash Bash."

Judy Burke, who knows Coleman through her neighborhood watch program,
suggested the idea of wearing the red ribbons and for an alternative
activity for teens during Hash Bash.

"It should be a place kids could go dance and not worry about drugs or
alcohol," said Burke, who has two children, ages 12 and 13. "These kids
need to get off the streets."

The partnership, together with the Pittsfield Township police department,
on Tuesday sponsored a panel discussion dealing with drugs in the community.

The half-hour presentation, "Taking a Stand," was broadcast on the local
television station CTN along with a two-hour discussion, "Say It Straight -
Our Health, Our Youth and Marijuana," which was broadcast live from the
Kellogg Center in East Lansing. That broadcast dealt with the medical,
social and political implications related to the recent legalization of
marijuana for medical use in some states.

Speaking during the "Taking a Stand" program, Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid
Sheldon said the Hash Bash tarnishes the city's reputation.

"Ann Arbor does have the perception of being a joke in terms of not caring
what happens (with the Hash Bash)," she said.

"It is important that we step up to the plate and say no."