RIVERA TEACHES STUDENTS OF THE DANGER OF DRUGS

The Social Sciences department at Rivera High School is spearheading
activities to promote Red Ribbon Week on Campus.

Faculty and staff at the school said they want for students to realize the
dangers of substance abuse and to learn the history behind the event.

Teachers say they will incorporate red ribbon week activities into their
lesson plans such as essays on the event and anti-drug posters that will
serve in encouraging students to stay drug free.

Red Ribbon week was inspired by the life of fallen drug enforcement agent,
Enrique Camarena who was killed by a drug cartel in Mexico. The
observation, which has been celebrated for the past 15 years, has prompted
many people to live drug-free lives.

"We want these students to realize just how dangerous taking drugs can be,
said Esmeralda Garcia, a World Geography teacher at Rivera High School. "We
also want them to learn about Enrique Camarena and about the sacrifice he
made to secure a safer and more prosperous future for the youth of this
nation."

Garcia also said Red Ribbon week needs to receive greater recognition at
the high school level, which is when most students will experience peer
pressure to take drugs and engage in deviant behavior.

"We have good kids at the school," she said "they are worth fighting for."

She added that the activities the Social Sciences department is planning
could serve as a wake up call for many of these students, some of whom are
not familiar with the life of Enrique Camarena

Adolescents often will trivialize both the social and physical consequences
of taking drugs said Luz Zuniga, a Government and Economics teacher at
Rivera "The decisions they (students) make, will affect them in the
future," she said.