Students march proclaiming anti-drug message
DARBY BOROUGH » Shouts of “Say no to drugs,” “Keep drugs out of our town,” “Make good choices,” and “Drugs will kill you,” rang through the streets of Darby Borough Friday afternoon when more than 500 students, parents, teachers and staff from Park Lane Elementary School in the William Penn School District marched through the neighborhood, vowing to keep themselves and their community drug-free.
The annual event, staged in honor of National Red Ribbon Week, Oct. 23-31, unites the school and the community against illegal drugs, communicating the importance of a drug-free lifestyle. Friday’s march marked the fourteenth year that Park Lane has participated.
Red Ribbon Week is one of the oldest and largest drug prevention campaigns in the nation. This year’s theme is “Your future is key, so stay drug-free.” The march is the culmination of other classroom activities orchestrated throughout the week, all with the same powerful anti-drug theme. According to Park Lane counselor Marnie Jackson, who organized the local march, the school takes its mission to equip its students for success in all areas of their lives — academic, health and wellness, social, emotional, and civic — very seriously.
“Taking a united and unequivocal stand against drugs sends a powerful message to our students that their success, in fact their lives, depends on identifying and making positive choices every step of the way,” Jackson said.
The marchers, decked out in head-to-toe symbolic red, were accompanied by local dignitaries as well as Darby Borough police and fire engines at the lead and the rear of the parade. They began the march at the school, located at 1300 Park Lane, marched up to Wycombe Avenue, turned right onto MacDade Boulevard, made another right onto Lansdowne Avenue, took a right onto Golf Road, another right onto Wycombe, and then headed back to the school.
Many of the students held signs proclaiming drug-free sentiments, while they loudly shouted antidrug messages through the streets.
Park Lane Principal Dawnée Watson-Bouie stated, “Our students and entire school community are excited about the Red Ribbon Walk because it empowers our children to take a public stand against drugs in their community. Our students work hard in school every day in order to make a difference in their lives. The annual walk coordinated by Mrs. Miles-Jackson is the perfect visible social action event for our students to pledge to make good choices in their future. Our children are our hope for the future and we support their energy to stand against drugs by committing to just say no!”
Park Lane student Antwan Clayton summed up the message of the week in one simple sentence.
“Drugs are bad for you, not good for you,” the tenyear-old stated.
The National Family Partnership organized the first nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign. Since its beginning in 1985, the Red Ribbon has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. In response to the murder of federal Drug Enforcement Agent Enrique Camarena, angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America.
In 1988, the partnership sponsored the first National Red Ribbon Week celebration. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities. Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children and families.
“As a counselor, I feel that we need to stand with our students to make a statement that we’re drug-free and we’re going to make good choices to remain drug free,” Jackson said. “Even though we’re an elementary school, we need to start this young to have students set goals and to teach them the importance of making good choices. They need to know the consequences of drug use. If we begin talking about these things at a young age, kids will be aware when they are faced with various situations. They will have the confidence, the skills, and the knowledge to remain drug-free by being good choice-makers.”