STUDENTS RENEW COMMITMENT TO STAY DRUG-FREE

Students in Leon County and across the nation this week are proving
they're committed to keeping drugs out of their lives.

Local schools are having fun events like dress-up days and inviting
speakers to inform students about the dangers of drugs as part of Red
Ribbon Week, which runs through Sunday. The campaign encourages people
to wear red ribbons as a visible sign that they're against drugs. It
was started when Kiki Camarena, a Drug Enforcement Administration
agent, was killed by drug traffickers in Mexico City in 1985.

Members of Chiles High School's Students Against Destructive Decisions
(SADD) hung red ribbons and signs with anti-drug messages around
school Monday. SADD members say drugs and alcohol are easy for
high-school students to find.

"Everyone you run into does it," sophomore Erica MacInnes
said.

But Erica and other students say they don't stray from their anti-drug
beliefs.

"There's a lot of peer pressure in high school," sophomore Kate
McElreath said. "I don't let people get to me."

SADD members will pass out information about drugs this week,
including Wednesday, which is Buckle Up Day. Drivers wearing safety
belts will receive Smarties or LifeSavers candy, and those not buckled
up will receive Dum-Dum lollipops.

In Gadsden County, students from several schools attended a speech on
Monday by former San Francisco 49ers player Lawrence Pillers. He
discussed leadership, said Tom Murray, crime-prevention officer for
the Quincy Police Department. Murray and a DARE officer also will
visit schools this week to deliver a message about drugs.

Elementary schools in Leon are celebrating Red Ribbon Week to reach
students early in their lives.

Roberts Elementary students will dress up every day to prove their
stand against drugs. Today, for example, they'll wear sunglasses to
show they're shading out drugs. High-school football players and
dance-team members will talk to the elementary students on Friday
about how drugs would negatively impact their extra-curricular activities.

"By the time they're in upper elementary grades, there may be exposure
to drugs," Roberts Principal Peggy Youngblood said. "We've never had
them on campus, but you don't know what's in their world. You do need
to prepare them."

Students at Canopy Oaks Elementary will present short dialogues and
raps with anti-drug messages on their morning news program this week.
The school nurse will also talk to them about "good drugs" and "bad
drugs," guidance counselor Anne Reeves said.

But other students have had to learn the hard way about drugs. A
Chiles High junior named Christina admitted she once took drugs.
Christina, who didn't want to use her last name, is now a member of
SADD.

"I lost three friends who died (from) an overdose," she said. "I have
two friends in rehab. It makes me upset people throw their lives away
for a pill or a joint."

Still, students are optimistic about the impact of Red Ribbon
Week.

Balencia , a sophomore at Chiles said, "Hopefully it'll save some
lives."