ASB Promotes a Drug-Free Lifestyle Through Red Ribbon Week

Nina Krish and Elise Ngo | 95 Views

Freshmen Aman Talib and Paxton Shum paint rocks at Tuesday’s lunchtime activity set up by ASB. Students of all grade levels gathered in the quad to paint rocks with their friends.

Red Ribbon Week took place from Oct. 23-27 to highlight the importance of living drug-free. The annual drug prevention campaign included various activities such as School Resource Officer Melissa Porter speaking, drug-free bingo playing and pledge signing against drugs while wearing red.

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, students painted rocks during the lunchtime activity, while ASB members and other students wrote kind notes to put up around the school on the previous day. Rock painting was a way to bond with friends while simultaneously spreading awareness for drug prevention, according to senior Sehaj Sethi.

“In not just America, drugs have been a really prominent thing and I think that we should not advocate for this but instead we should go against it,” Sethi said. “And Red Ribbon Week promotes that since drugs should be advocated against, they should not be used, they should not be mishandled.”

In honor of Red Ribbon Week, ASB’s week-long service project consisted of a clothing and toiletry drive by the gym. The proceeds were donated to OC Revive, a drug rehabilitation center in Lake Forest, according to ASB service project commissioner and sophomore Cali Smith.

“We’re trying to help students to spread awareness so that everyone knows the negative effects of drugs,” Smith said. “We just hope that everyone recognizes the importance of Red Ribbon Week and are able to learn from it.”

ASB pushed out information via Instagram the previous weekend to communicate all the lunchtime activities that would happen during Red Ribbon Week and informed teachers to put up flyers in their classrooms, according to ASB social media commissioner and sophomore Chloe Chen.

“We do these activities to make sure students are remembering to participate with good values like kindness, and just sharing your time with other people.” Chen said.

With the overarching goal of student involvement in drug prevention, Red Ribbon Week is a way to connect students and promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy mindset, according to Chen.

ASB’s community service will continue through future events such as the Fine Arts Assembly during the week of Dec. 4-8.

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About the Contributors

Nina Krish, Sports Editor

Nina Krish is the Sports Editor, a Photo Editor and a Business Manager for her second year on the Portola Pilot. During class, you can find her drinking her matcha that Kayley put her on and helping her best friend Olivia with her math homework. In her freetime, she enjoys napping and baking. She is so excited to work with all the new writers on the Pilot this year.

Elise Ngo, Features Editor

Elise Ngo is the Features Editor for her second and final year on the Portola Pilot. When not obsessing over Instagram labradoodles or harassing her older sister to buy Cha for Tea popcorn chicken, you can find her having existential crises during hikes in Shady Canyon while listening to her favorite musicals. In the newsroom, if not being mixed up with Maddie, she’s abusing em dashes and asking Tara for headline puns. She’s thrilled for another year with her divine Pilot peers.