HISD SETS RED RIBBON WEEK ACTIVITIES

Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in
the country.

It serves as a vehicle for communities and individuals to take a
stand for the hopes and dreams of our children through a commitment
to drug prevention and education and a personal commitment to live
drug-free lives.

Monday through Friday will be Red Ribbon Week for the Huntsville ISD.

During this week, Huntsville students will be getting important
information from their teachers and special guests about safety,
being careful with medicines, and ways to say no to unsafe and
unhealthy choices.

To make this week more memorable and exciting, students and staff
(and parents if you are visiting during the week) are encouraged to
dress the following ways:

Monday -- Sock It To Drugs! Wear crazy or mismatched socks.

Tuesday -- Tip Your Hat - Being Drug Free! Wear a hat

Wednesday -- "Red"y to Show Our Drug Free Character! Wear Red.

Thursday -- Can't Hide Your Hornet Pride! Wear camouflage.

Friday -- Team Up Against Drugs! Wear a shirt to support a team.

Red Ribbon Week also commemorates the ultimate sacrifice made by DEA
Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who died at the hands of drug
traffickers in Mexico while fighting the battle against illegal drugs
to keep our country and children safe.

Enrique "Kiki" Camarena grew up in a dirt-floored house with hopes
and dreams of making a difference. He worked his way through college,
served in the Marines and became a police officer.

When he decided to join 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 believed to include officers in the Mexican army,
police and government.

On 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
in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found in a shallow
grave. He had been tortured to death.

In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs,
friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin.

Parents, sick of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, had
begun forming coalitions. Some of these new coalitions took Camarena
as their model and embraced his belief that one person can make a difference.

These coalitions also adopted the symbol of Camarena's memory, the red ribbon.

The National Family Partnership organized the first nationwide Red
Ribbon Campaign in 1988. Since that time, the campaign has reached
millions of U.S. children.

In 1997, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse began
committing resources to ensure the continuation of the Red Ribbon
Campaign in Texas, as well as the hopes and beliefs behind this
grassroots effort to protect children from the dangers of alcohol and
other drugs.