Red Ribbon Week is an annual tradition, in which schools and organizations all across the U.S. come together to campaign against the effects of substance abuse and raise awareness about smoking and drugs. Red Ribbon Week usually takes place in late October, with Clark’s dates this year being the 21st to the 25th.
At other high schools like Glendale or Hoover High School, Red Ribbon Week is planned by their school’s ASB, but here at Clark, the week is planned by KATS Club (Kids Against Tobacco and Smoking), led by health teacher, Mr. Der-Gevorkian. This year at Clark, the club organized a spirit week, but also put up posters, tied red ribbons all around campus, and passed out “Drug-Free” bracelets during lunch.
“My favorite part of preparing for Red Ribbon Week was going around campus, tying ribbons everywhere, and putting up the posters,” Emily Tsaturyan, president of the media division, said.
Spirit week consisted of daily themes: “Hats Off to Those Who Don’t Use Drugs,” “Teaming Up Against Drugs,” and several others. Students at Clark look forward to the spirit weeks because it is their way to show school spirit, but it also ends up being an opportunity to be somewhat out of the typical Clark dress code. The week came to a close with a concurrent school event, Clarktoberfest, so all students had a free dress day that day.
Many believe Red Ribbon Week is just a campaign warning people of the dangers of smoking. And while that is definitely a part of it, the week symbolizes much more than that. The origins date way back to 1988 as a tribute to Kiki Camarena, who had been killed while investigating drug trafficking. Camarena’s tragic death led dozens of organizations in the US to wear red ribbons as commemoration. Since then, an annual tradition began nationwide to campaign against the brutality of drugs.
Back in the ’80s, during Red Ribbon Weeks origins, smoking was often seen as cool and trendy because many celebrities were posing in magazines with a cigarette between their fingers. This caused many impressionable kids and teenagers who look up to these celebrities as role models to think smoking was normal, without necessarily thinking deeply about the aftermath.
Organizations like Red Ribbon Week worked to undo the normalization of drugs and smoking.
Today, while smoking cigarettes isn’t as much of an epidemic in teens, vaping and e-cigarettes are. More often than not, high school students shrug off these conversations, but it is definitely something that deserves attention, regardless of the typical response from students.
While it may be fun to dress up in jerseys and score free bracelets, the reasoning behind all these events is to inform people with the hope that it will reduce, and hopefully over time, put a stop to drug use. Mr. Der-Gevorkian went into detail of how his main goal with Red Ribbon Week and KATS Club is to create awareness and knowledge of the dangers of smoking which will create a much stronger chance of prevention.
Smoking, drug abuse, and addiction have been a prevalent issue among teens, especially in high school. As young students navigate this experimental stage of their lives, it’s extremely important to remember to stay drug-free.
