BRAZIL, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— Students from Clay County Elementary Schools got the chance to leave the classroom and march to the courthouse in Brazil. It was part of Red Ribbon Week, which is an effort to teach kids about a drug, tobacco, and alcohol-free lifestyle.
Students got to participate in different stations at the courthouse to learn about a drug, tobacco, and alcohol-free lifestyle and how these things can affect people when consumed. There was also a mock trial that students got to participate in during this event. SADD co-sponsor and English teacher at Clay City High School, Cassy Tiefel, said an event like this can’t just be done overnight.
“This is something that takes months of preparation,” Tiefel said. “We have wonderful county officials who make sure that the courthouse is cleared and then it’s basically considered a field trip for all the fifth graders and the high school students that take part in this event. So, like I said, our county officials have been great to work with us to make sure that the courthouse schedule is clear for the day and allow over three hundred fifth graders to kind of take over the courthouse.”
High school students from both Clay City and Northview volunteered their time to help the elementary students about what it means to be drug, tobacco, and alcohol free.
“This is something they look forward to pretty much all year long,” Tiefel said. “This is always in the last week of October and basically from the first day of school, we have SADD students saying, how do I sign up for SADD and when is the march to the courthouse because they are so excited to be a part of this and have an impact on the younger fifth graders.”
Tiefel said she hopes this program can teach the elementary students life lessons they can take with them for years to come.
“What we’re hoping they take away is remembering all the different speakers remembering hearing from those who have literally been incarcerated for using tobacco, drugs, alcohol and making those choices and paying the consequences for that,” Tiefel said. “Seeing the effects of those effects firsthand and secondly, our biggest goal is to lead them down the right path to whereas high schools, as they enter middle school and high school, and maybe face some more of those peer pressures, they’re able to stand up against those and say no and make better choices.”
Several students also wore red during the event, as the color red symbolizes courage and is also the color associated with having a drug, tobacco, and alcohol-free lifestyle.
