DATE: Monday, March 24, 1997                TAG: 9703240048

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: Staff Report 

DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS                  LENGTH:  194 lines

CHILDREN DARE TO LEARN TO SAY ``NO'' TO DRUGS FIRST FLIGHT STUDENTS WRITE WINNING ESSAYS ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED.

Fifth-grade students at First Flight Elementary recently completed a nine-week program designed to help them say no to drugs.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, conducted by Officer Brien Lassiter, included writing an essay about what students had learned.

Coordinator Roberta Evans said 88 students wrote essays. One winner was chosen from each class.

Here are the winning entries:

By RAchel Fleck

Are you a good role model to other people? Do you sometimes take risks? Are you ever in a violent situation? If the answer to these questions is yes, let me tell you what I learned in DARE.

Good role models know how to say no. My brother is a good role model because he knows how to say no. One day his friend asked him to come over after school and either smoke or drink. But my brother said ``No, I don't do things like that.'' I wish to be like him when I grow up.

You take a big risk if you do drugs. Drugs can kill you. Alcohol can make you pass out and get hurt. Sometimes you can die. Smoking can give you black lung or cancer. Smelling things you're not supposed to can kill you or damage your brain. That's why you should never do drugs.

Avoid people who do drugs, because they are dangerous. If someone asks you for drugs and you say ``no,'' they might hurt you. You may think they won't hurt you, but when people are drunk you never know. You should never go by a drunk or a person on drugs, because they can kill you or severely hurt you.

Remember to be a good role model, don't take risks, and try not to be near a violent situation.

Drugs don't do anything good for you! By Mariah Henderson

DARE is a program that teaches kids how to say no to drugs. I have learned a lot from Officer Lassiter, who is our DARE officer. Here are some things I have learned:

In DARE, I have learned what drugs are, what they do, and what kinds of drugs there are, such as stimulants and depressants. Sometimes pressure can make a person do drugs. Peer pressure is a type of pressure; there are four types of peer pressure. Friendly peer pressure, teasing peer pressure, indirect peer pressure, and heavy peer pressure. Media is also a type ofpressure. Media is any means of communication that reaches or influences large numbers of people, such as TV, movies, newspapers and billboards. Pressure and drugs can lead to disagreements and stress. In the DARE program, I've learned ways to solve disagreements and ways to deal with stress.

In DARE, I have learned what my rights are; this helps me so that I will answer questions the way they should be answered. These are my rights:

I have the right to be happy and to be treated with care and understanding. This means I can talk about my ideas without being made fun of or hurt.

I have the right to be respected as a person. We are all special and unique. This means that I should be treated fairly.

I have the right to be safe. This means that no person should hurt me physically or with words or try to touch me in ways that make me feel uncomfortable.

I have the right to say no. This means that I am able to say no to another peer or adult when asked to do something that is wrong or dangerous, or doesn't seem right to me.

I have the right to state what I feel and to hear what others have to say. This means that I should be able to talk when it is my turn and to listen to others when they are speaking.

And last, I have the right to learn. This means that I should be proud of things that I learn and work hard to improve myself.

Officer Lassiter has taught us 8 ways to say no. Here they are:

Saying ``no thanks.'' You use this method when there isn't a lot of pressure.

Giving a reason or excuse. Here is an example: ``Would you like a beer?'' ``No thanks, I have dance lessons.''

Repeated refusal. This is when you keep saying no. The repeated refusal is also known as ``the broken record.''

Walking away. An example is: ``Do you want a hit?'' Then you say no and walk away.

Changing the subject. This is when you are asked to take drugs and you answer like this; ``No, but let's play with my puppy.''

Avoiding the situation. This is when you avoid places where drugs are often used.

Cold shoulder. This is when someone asks you to take drugs and you just turn around and ignore them.

Strength in numbers. This is where you hang around with non-users, especially where drug use is expected.

Officer Lassiter and DARE have made a big impression on my life. The program has taught me to say no to drugs no matter how someone asks me. I have learned to respect myself and to show respect for others no matter what the differences are in our lifestyles, values and ideas.

I would like to thank Officer Lassiter for teaching me how to say no to drugs. By Jesse Parson

This year we have learned many things in the DARE program. The program has taught me how harmful illegal drugs are. This program ``I hope'' will keep me drug free. I am going to tell you about drugs, consequences, and ways to say ``No.''

A drug is any substance other than food that can affect the way your mind and body work. Certain drugs can slow down, speed up or make a person see stuff that isn't there. Nicotine is a stimulant which increases the heart rate, causes blood vessels to narrow, which makes the heart work harder. Alcohol is a depressant drug. Marijuana is a mind-altering drug. Marijuana has many slang names such as pot, weed, grass, and reefers. These are the best known drugs that push you to stuff like crack, LSD, and heroin. As I have learned from Officer Lassiter, people's attitudes become violent, they lose memory, and have slow reflexes after using drugs.

Here are some ways to say ``No.'' Saying ``no thanks'' means say ``no thanks''; giving reason or excuse;broken record approach, when that person keeps asking you, and you keep saying ``no''; and walking away; changing the subject; avoiding the situation; cold shoulder, which means turning around and don't say anything; and strength in numbers, which means a group of people who don't smoke say ``no'' to the dealer. Response styles should not be answering or demanding, just confident. Here are a couple of examples: ``Would you like a beer?'' ``No thanks.'' Would you like a hit?'' ``No.'' ``Come on.'' ``Just try it.'' ``No!'' ``Let's smoke some marijuana.'' ``No, let's play some basketball instead,'' and ``Hey! Do you want to smoke?'' Just turn around and ignore the person.

Consequences can be good or bad. Using tobacco can cause lung cancer or gum disease. If you don't use it you could have high self esteem or a positive attitude. Using marijuana you could lose memory or get sick. Not using it you could be more alert or you could have a chance in life. The results of something you do or choose not to do is the definition of consequences.

So that's my essay. I talked about drugs, ways to say no, and consequences. I liked working with Officer Lassiter. I hope I can visit when I go to the sixth grade. Well, this is all I have learned this year. I hope this keeps me drug free. By Sonny Settle

This essay you are about to read is about DARE. You might think I am talking about the county of Dare since that is where we live, but I'm not. The essay is about a program my classmates and I have participated in for the past couple of months. DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. My essay will explain what I have learned and things I can do to keep me drug free and able to deal with different problems I may face in the years ahead. The topics I will write about are drugs, violence, and media techniques. I am ready to share my knowledge, so let's get started.

Drugs can affect people in negative ways. One kind of drug, tobacco, can give you cancer in your mouth and also in your lungs. Another kind of drug that can be bad for a person is alcohol. Alcohol can kill brain cells, cause heart disease, affect the liver, and cause blackouts. Marijuana is an illegal drug that can hurt the body by slowing down a person's reflexes, causes loss of memory, and shortens your attention span. If you are aware of the dangers of different kinds of drugs, then you should be like me . . . drug free! The reason why I am drug free and plan to stay that way is because I plan to go to college and get a degree. I need all my brain cells and memory to do a good job and I won't be able to accomplish great things if I get messed up with drugs and alcohol. If you care about yourself and want a good future then you won't get involved with drugs or alcohol either.

Is violence good? No! It can lead to horrible stuff like injury or even death. If you are the one that is acting violent then you can go to jail if you are caught. There are ways to avoid getting into a possible violent situation such as by being confident and looking someone in the eye saying ``No'' to whatever they are offering or trying to get you to do that you are not comfortable with. There are also ways that may not work as well to avoid a violent situation such as by being demanding and not respecting the rights of others. This could make a person feel defensive and angry. Violence is a big problem all around the world. Gangs are common in the United States and take the lives of many very young people. It is good to hang out with friends that don't feel violence solves problems. There is strength in numbers, so the more friends you have that don't believe in violence the better off you are.

A way that may get people to buy or try things that may not be good for them is through the media such as TV commercials, ads in newspapers and magazines, or billboards that are along roads. Some of the ways they try and use these ads is to make you feel like you want to be the person in the picture. They show a scene where lots of people are together having a good time drinking a certain type of beer. When you watch that ad you may feel that if you drink that beer you will have lots of good friends around you and have lots of fun. This type of ad is called the Bandwagon Approach and also Having Fun. Another type of technique is the Sex Appeal Approach. The ad may show a beautiful woman smoking a cigarette. When a girl sees this type of ad she may think to herself that she would look as beautiful as the woman in the ad if she smokes the same type of cigarette. These are examples of ways the media tries to get us to buy and use things that we don't need or that may be bad for us.

If you haven't figured out by now, I'm totally against drugs and hope I have explained some of the things I have learned in DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, that will help you to take a stand against drugs, violence, and media techniques.

Try to do the things that I do; choose the right kinds of friends to hang out with. These are people that like you for who you are, that don't use drugs, are not into violence, and who don't pressure you to do things you are not comfortable with. If you get mixed up with the wrong people, you may get into drugs and ruin your life or end up not having a life because drugs can kill you or you can get killed because of the violence that happens with the people that use and sell them. If it were up to me I would get every type of drug that is bad and put them on a spaceship and send them into outer space so no one will be tempted to try them. But I cannot. The next best way to prevent drug use is through education like DARE. ILLUSTRATION: DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

At First Flight Elementary School, fifth-graders Rachel Fleck, left,

Jesse Parsons, Sonny Settle and Mariah Henderson wrote top essays on

what they learned during the nine-week DARE program at the school.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu