The start of Red Ribbon Week, hosted by Be The Change (BTC), is coming up on October 13th.
Celebrated nationally in schools and other institutions and organizations, this week’s intent is to “get people to be aware of the dangers and harms [of drugs and alcohol] and…to provide them with the information that could maybe help them to make better choices,” according to BTC staff advisor Karen Kostrencich.
But this purpose can’t just be achieved by beautifully decorating the school with signs and bows.
It is done through the coordinated efforts of BTC, guest speakers, and local law enforcement.
Red Ribbon Week is one of BTC’s larger undertakings, requiring a similar amount of work and preparation to Yellow Ribbon Week.
While Yellow Ribbon Week’s goal is to “give opportunities for people to be kind,” the focus during Red Ribbon Week is “more about education and information dissemination,” said Kostrencich.
Additionally, for Red Ribbon Week, they also consciously have to “keep more of a serious tone,” according to BTC Co-President Carolina Juelle.
Before the planning begins, Juelle says BTC reminds its students to have this in mind when brainstorming and to “make sure it all connects back to the meaning behind Red Ribbon Week.”
In comparison to past years, the goal has remained the same, but the methods have somewhat changed.
BTC tries to switch it up and “bring in new ideas each year”, but–according to Juelle–there are some things that just seem to “resonate well with students”, hence why they “always try to bring in a speaker but maybe vary the perspective.”
BTC also always decorates the school with actual red ribbons each year as well as with newly painted posters.
A notable change in the week’s proceedings is that the wrecked car encased in glass (from a drunk driving accident) is no longer part of the week’s attractions.
Juelle says that BTC “[hasn’t] done that [in a couple of years] since it was just kind of hard to find a place for it and to really get the meaning behind the crash and the effects of someone driving under the influence.”
Kostrencich said there is “a very fine balance [of] trying to get the information out there, but still have kids want to participate and get the information.”
To do this, they now instead “really [push] the guest speaker- especially having it be a student perspective, like a previous student or a family member just kind of talking about how their lives were affected [by drugs or alcohol],” said Kostrencich.
In addition to having a guest speaker come in during fifth period, BTC is “hoping to have the police back again at lunch” this year, as they help to “simulate what it’s like if you were to be pulled over and under the influence [in the hopes that] it’s something that kids realize they don’t want to happen to them.”
Sea Kings can also anticipate interactive hallway boards and trivia about different facts related to Red Ribbon Week for this year.
Keep an eye out for updates on the BTC instagram during the week of October 13 through 17.