By Peter Fusilero
Executive Sports Editor|
Students walking out of the commons this Thursday, Oct. 25, were wearing little red ribbons pinned to their shirts, sweatshirts, and backpacks.
Those little red ribbons represents an alcohol, tobacco, drug, and violence awareness campaign that is held annually every October.
The campaign is called Red Ribbon Week and it is a way for communities, families, and schools to come together to take a stand against substance abuse.
At Prospect, the club that is leading the campaign is KUNI, Knights Under No Influence.
In the commons, KUNI had a table set up with a pledge for students to sign to show that they are committed to a drug free lifestyle.
After they sign the petition, they are given the small ribbon that represents their subtle stand for what they believe in.
“[Red Ribbon Week] is really just a way to take a few days in the month of October just to focus on the importance of staying drug, alcohol, and violence free,” english teacher Nicole Warren said.
Warren is in charge KUNI and believes that the club really tries to represent the red ribbon in a positive way by doing activities once a month on Friday nights.
“This Friday [KUNI is] going to see a movie. One Friday we might go bowling,” Warren said. “All activities that promote healthy and safe lifestyles.”
Warren enjoys seeing the proud and serious students wearing the ribbons during Red Ribbon Week.
“It’s nice this week because students get their red ribbon and they can walk around the school and see who believes in the same things they believe in,” Warren said.
The problem that KUNI is trying to avoid is where people are signing the pledge, but they do not commit to what they have just signed.
“We are still in the works of ‘building’ Red Ribbon Week,” senior Sherin Thomas said. “We have to make people aware of how serious this really is.”
Both Thomas and Warren believe that the pledge really has to do with a person’s pride and if someone is just taking the pledge as a joke, then that causes a problem.
“When students take the pledge, we hope they act out and live out the pledge,” Warren said. “Not just for the week, but for the year and lives to come.”