DGS will observe Red Ribbon Week next week, Oct. 15-19. Red Ribbon Week is a week to raise awareness about substance use, specifically through educating students and discussing prevention efforts. As in years past, the goal is simply to inform students; however, this year Student Assistance Coordinator Diana Benoist plans to focus strongly on vaping.

“We’re focusing our efforts on information about vaping because we know that there’s been a huge increase in the students at South [who are vaping]. … It’s still a minority of students, it’s about 30% of students who say they’re vaping, but that’s a huge percentage, that’s almost a third. It’s not everyone like some people think, but it’s still an alarming number, considering that number was more like 9 or 10% 2 years ago,” Benoist said.

Specifically, the focus will be on the marketing strategies tobacco companies are using to market their products to teens. “It’s really kind of upsetting and disturbing when you take a step back and you look at how intentionally they are trying to market to and target young people to start vaping so that they become addicted to nicotine and then they’re customers for life,” Benoist said.

Despite the week’s new focus, it will be missing an assembly and a speaker. DGS holds Red Ribbon Week assemblies every two years and hopes to invite Chris Herren back again in the future. Though students can’t expect an assembly, they should check their emails on Thursday, when Benoist will be sending a quiz with the potential to win prizes.

The quiz isn’t the only way students can be involved with Red Ribbon Week. Wednesday, Oct. 17 will be Snowball Day. Operation Snowball is a two-day retreat focusing on the prevention of substance use in teens and will be held this year on Nov. 9 and 10.

“It teaches you really good life skills, not just how to cope with high school, but how to cope with life, and when stress gets too hard, and the underlying message that we talk about but we don’t force down your throat is how to cope with stress and mental health, without resorting to alcohol or drugs,” senior and fall Operation Snowball director Lexi Gibson said.

“It’s an opportunity for students and staff to have conversations about substance use. By no means do I think that every student is completely enlightened and their mind is drastically changed necessarily, because we do know that a small percentage of our students are going to choose to use substances, unfortunately. The good news is that the vast majority don’t, but I think the important thing again is the conversation,” Benoist said.

Want to listen to a podcast on vaping? Click here.