RED RIBBON WEEK HONORS SLAIN DEA AGENT

Across Ventura County, teachers have been escorting children to school
assemblies this week. As a reward for signing their names to a pledge,
the students have red ribbons taped to their chests. Surely, the
assembly had a moment when all were led in a chant of "Say no to
drugs!" Red Ribbon Week had arrived.

Different fun activities have been enjoyed each day of the week, such
as crazy-socks day, crazy-hair day or red-shirt day. Children were
given small trinkets with the Red Ribbon Week theme. During the second
half of the week, a public display of the certificates or ribbons on a
school fence declared to the neighborhood that the school is drug-free.

We can hope the school is truly drug-free. We can always hope the
students will not be affected directly or indirectly from the plight
of drugs and alcohol when away from school.

Unfortunately, the chants of, "Say no to drugs!" are just that. Many
children go home to older siblings, parents or others who may have
answered differently when given the opportunity. Students often live
in the world of teachers, structured schedules and classroom chants,
as well as a world outside the control of accountable public
instruction.

Red Ribbon Week did not appear in our schools after a concerned
awakening by the citizenry nor after a sound bite given by Nancy Reagan.

The yearly pledges actually started as a tribute to fallen DEA Special
Agent Enrique Camarena, who died after being tortured by a drug cartel
in Mexico.

Having graduated from college, Camarena served in the U.S. Marines
with honors and became a police officer. Upon joining the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out it. "I
can't not do this," he told her. "I'm only one person, but I want to
make a difference."

The DEA sent Camarena to work undercover in Mexico investigating a
major drug cartel. Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his
office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's
side and shoved him into a car. One month later, Camarena's body was
found in a shallow grave. He had been tortured to death.

Within weeks of his death, Camarena's high-school friend Henry Lozano
launched Camarena Clubs. Hundreds of club members pledged to lead
drug-free lives to honor the sacrifices made by Camarena and others on
behalf of all Americans.

To honor Camarena's memory, friends and neighbors began to wear red
ribbons.

This week, children sat in cafeterias throughout Ventura County and
the nation. They were led in a chant and later showed their ribbons
and pledges to their parents. I hope they also know about the name of
a DEA special agent who gave his life while trying to make a difference.

Denis O'Leary, of Oxnard, is a teacher in the Rio School District
and an Oxnard School District trustee.