Pubdate: Mon, 07 Feb 2000
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2000 Houston Chronicle
Contact:  Viewpoints Editor, P.O. Box 4260 Houston, Texas 77210-4260
Fax: (713) 220-3575
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html
Author: Heather Saucier, Special to the Chronicle

FOR KIDS, BY KIDS - TEENS CREATE PROGRAM TO FIGHT DRUGS

THE WOODLANDS -- Seven John Cooper School students here recently were
given a daunting task of developing a program that would keep their
peers drug, alcohol and tobacco free.

"We had no idea at the beginning (what to do)," admitted Sara DeWitz,
17, who was chosen to help create and implement the program. "Our goal
was to keep kids off drugs, which was quite a lofty one."

However, after meeting each week, a committee of five seniors and one
freshman developed a drug-prevention program called Student
Alternative to Substance Abuse, or SASA.

SASA officially has been installed at the school for two months. So
far, its creators say they are pleased with the results.

"It's amazing actually seeing this come together," DeWitz said,
explaining that drugs can be a problem at affluent, private schools
such as John Cooper, which educates kindergarten through 12th-graders.
"Hopefully it will make an impact. We've never really seen anything
like this done (before)."

The challenge began when the students were approached last spring by
officials from the Center for the Performing Arts, more commonly known
as the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion here.

The center's Marketing and Community Relations department had been
given a $75,000 grant from the Waggoner Foundation to be used
specifically for a drug prevention program for teen-agers.

Fred Sheppard, the center's education coordinator, said rather than
assign adults to the project, he thought he would give students a
chance to use the money to develop a program.

"If any kind of program is going to work, it is best if it's conjured
up by them," Sheppard said. "We laid it out for them and said, `You go
away and come back and tell us what you'd like to do.' "

Matt Hu, 19, a SASA committee member, said the group first submitted
an anonymous questionnaire to determine drug usage among students in
grades six through eight. Results showed that alcohol was the No. 1
drug of choice at their school, and that drugs became a temptation
starting in the seventh grade.

The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse statistics show that
experimentation with drugs among teens begins at age 13, and 87
percent of high school seniors have used alcohol.

After weeks of discussion, the group decided to focus its efforts on
middle school students and "catch" the problem before it became a
habit, Hu said.

Committee members visited sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders and
asked that they sign pledges to remain drug free for a designated
period of time. They told the younger students they would not be
tested for drug use, and that their written promises would be based on
the honor-system.

"If they don't take it seriously, it's their conscience," explained
Vijay Jayaraman, 17, who also helped create the program.

In return for remaining loyal to their pledges, middle school students
receive the privilege of attending dances and other social activities,
which are paid for by the grant, in a drug-free environment at the
Center for Performing Arts.

DeWitz emphasized that middle school students have few, drug-free
options for entertainment, and that the group wanted to appeal to that
generation.

At the functions, students will be chaperoned by the pavilion's
personnel and SASA committee members, who say they will lead by
example and remain drug free. Parents and teachers are not allowed to
attend.

Students also will be able to win concert tickets at the
pavilion.

"Adults educate you about drugs and tell you not to use drugs. We're
showing you not to use drugs," DeWitz said. "We're with them in this
endeavor."

Jim Watkins, 17, a committee member, said he believes high school
students who abstain from drugs set the best example for middle school
students because of their age proximity.

Sheppard said an anti-drug program developed by high school students
is the best method to enforce the message to that age group.

"Going through high school doesn't mean you have to drink a six-pack
of beer every weekend," said Anne Donahoo, middle- and upper-school
counselor.

"We hope and pray they hold to it," she said of the students' promises
to themselves.

DeWitz said 95 percent of sixth-graders signed pledges to abstain from
drugs and 80 percent of seventh- and eighth-graders submitted written
promises. Next year, they will be asked to renew their pledges to keep
the program alive.

Michelle Ashton, 17, a committee member, said she believes the program
will be effective because the middle school students are entrusted
with a responsibility rather than being monitored and judged by adults.

"We thought that idea was revolutionary to them because they need
notes just to get out of class," she said, explaining how closely they
are normally watched at school.

While some middle school students expressed doubt that all of their
peers would adhere to their pledges, most believe the program will
work.

"It encourages you to stay off drugs by giving you something to think
about in the future," said Sarah Hilton, 12, explaining the social
rewards of the program.

Sarah said the seniors' presence in her class made her feel as if they
honestly cared about her well being.

Student James Carlton, 12, said he believed the SASA program is needed
because he and many of his peers cannot remember facts from the Drug
Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, program that is implemented in
many local elementary schools.

By writing personal pledges to remain drug free, student Leigh
Oglesby, 14, said she believes students' consciences will play an
indispensable role in keeping their promises.

"You'll have a guilt trip with yourself if you break it," she
said.

Donahoo said she believes the program has a good chance of being
successful because it came from the minds of those most exposed to the
temptations of drugs.

"I've learned so much just from watching these kids put this
together," she said. "I would never have dreamed up something that
works as well as what these kids have done."

Other committee members were Kelsey Baldwin, 15, and Andrew Chen,
17.

Sheppard said if the program proves successful, they will try to
entice students at schools in The Woodlands and Conroe to make similar
promises.

"It's a lesson in life actually, if they can do that," he said.
"There's going to be nobody out there policing them. The only person
they are going to deceive is themselves."
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