Red Ribbon Week should highlight the importance of being drug-free. It should encourage people to help those struggling with addiction. It should be important to understand the meaning behind the things people do. However, Red Ribbon Week has become one of the things people participate in without actually thinking about why they are participating. This type of apathy is part of a problem that encourages addiction instead of highlighting it.
Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s longest running drug-free awareness program, and that is part of the problem. We are so used to it that we tend to ignore its meaning.
We have spirit days sponsored by the student council, but with so many spirit days, the meaning behind them tends to fade. We find ourselves just checking the schedule of events instead of learning about staying drug-free. Dressing up shows support for being drug-free, but often people dress up without knowing why. It’s important to not only participate in but also to know why one is dressing up. We need to remember that the ultimate goal is to help people struggling with addiction and not to win a spirit competition because we wore the most costumes.
The assembly over addiction and fentanyl did much more to help us understand addiction and drug use than wearing a spooky costume ever will. The actual testimonials of people who lost family members was also more useful than informational posters in the lockers that no one reads. Schools should always have assemblies that show the true reality of drug abuse no matter how unpleasant that imformation might be.
It’s understandable that students no longer pay attention to the significance of Red Ribbon Week. We have been dressing up in fun ways since kindergarten, and the meaning has been faded by the fun. If the meaning is important, then the message must be more than just the fun.
Red Ribbon Week should provide more than a chance to dress up. It should provide students who are going through or they know someone who is going through addiction usable information. It is no use to practice Red Ribbon Week if it does not address its purpose.
With almost 12% of middle school and high school students using tobacco or vaping, and four out of every 10 drug users dying from fentanyl poisoning, this has become a life or death situation. Students need real help. Red Ribbon Week should actually help. Not only would it really help to understand its true purpose, but it would also encourage students to make a difference in their schools and homes.
Red Ribbon Week should encourage students to not engage in drug abuse. Drug abuse is a real issue that millions of students are touched by every day, and sugar coating this issue with ‘fun’ activities does not seem to address the problem without concrete information to combat the situation.