By: Trista Lemin (grade 9)

Every year students at Tussey Mountain celebrate Red Ribbon Week for drug and alcohol awareness.  Students participate by dressing in varying outfits throughout the week. Each day has a designated theme chosen by members of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and both Jr./Sr. High guidance counselors, Mrs. Megan Schneider and Ms. Taylor Shoemaker.

Many students have learned the hard way that you never know when you are going to lose someone due to drugs. They could walk out of a building and be gone. Some teenagers think it is okay to drink and do drugs, but little do they know that drugs can affect so much, like their public image and how people view them. One in five teens have abused prescription medications,” according to the Centers for Disease Control.”

At Tussey Mountain High School they do their best to prevent the use of drugs in school. Instead of celebrating just 1 day, they celebrate a whole week of drug prevention. October 21st through October 25th is their Red Ribbon Week. The themes for the week were: Monday: Pajama Day, Tuesday: Camo Day, Wednesday: Wild West, Thursday: Neon Day, and Friday: Jersey Day. There were many students helping to prevent drugs. Tussey Mountain had theme days because that is how they celebrate and show Titan Pride. The outfits the student wore were to show students there are better things to do than use drugs and alcohol.

Many students were excited for Red Ribbon Week not only to increase awareness and stop drugs but also because the students got to wear pajamas on Monday. Many students wish they could do that every Monday for the school year. There were many onesies, including a Rudolph onesie, Jack the Pumpkin King onesie, and a dinosaur onesie. 

Sophomore Kyle Williams said Camo Day was his favorite because “No one could see me.” Some of the student body wore their hunting attire for school. Williams also said his favorite themes were “Camo Day and Neon Day” because for Jersey Day he had no choice but to wear his [Titan] jersey because he plays football He liked Camo Day because “no one could see me,” and Neon Day so he could be bright. ” I actually had outfits for those days,” said Williams. Sophomore Dekin Woolnough also said his favorite theme for Red Ribbon Week was Camo Day because “some of the boys are country boys.”

Some students brought it upon themselves to talk about drugs and how bad they are, not just for your health, but for how the public sees you. “Many kids communicated about drugs,” said Williams. Students communicated to each other to “keep students from dying,” Woolnough said.

By the sounds of it, Tussey Mountain Red Ribbon Week celebration was a success. Many students went all out just to make Red Ribbon Week 2019 an absolute success!