LETTER OF THE WEEK

D.A.R.E. PROGRAM

I am writing in response to your article about the "Council unveils
cuts to budget" on the June 2 front page. I feel like you are
misrepresenting the facts about Emily Naeole-Beason's budget cut
request. The D.A.R.E. program is not an educational program. It is
a propaganda program aimed at young schoolchildren. The police are
spreading misinformation and what happens is once the children learn
that the police lie about drugs, they cannot trust them about other issues.

The D.A.R.E. program has been cited as being ineffective by the
U.S. Department of Education, in addition to the U.S. Surgeon
General and the U.S. General Accountability Office. The DOE has
banned federal funding of the D.A.R.E. program in school. I feel
you need to print a correction immediately stating the truth about
the D.A.R.E. program. And I, for one, am personally thankful to
Emily for standing up to end this wasteful use of county funds. The
police should be here to protect and serve us, not lobby for the
perpetuation of the "Drug War."

Sara Steiner

Pahoa

Pubdate: Fri, 4 Jun 2010

Source: Hawaii Tribune Herald (Hilo, HI)