PACE holds annual Red Ribbon Week

By Christoph Neumann
Staff Writer

Following annual tradition, People Attaining Complete Equality (PACE) held its drug awareness assembly on Oct. 26, the final day of Red Ribbon Week.

The assembly featured recovering addicts and former Mira Costa students, Mira Costa Resource Officer John Loy, rehabilitation counselors and professional surfer Alex Gray, whose brother suffered and died from drug addiction. The assembly’s theme was “Taken.”

“This theme reminds us of the people that have been taken as a result of their addictions,” PACE advisor Dr. Rocky Wilson said.

For the first time, a video featuring Costa students was shown at the assembly. In the video, Pace members asked students questions regarding drugs in the Costa community and whether or not they thought it was a problem.

“It was cool to see people I knew in the video,” senior Taylor Lewis said. “It definitely made me think about the drug problem at Costa.”

Along with the assembly, PACE distributed lollipops, sticky hands, water bottles and bracelets. They also hung up posters around campus that portrayed “Taken.” All of these handouts advocated a commitment to a drug-free lifestyle.

“The handouts were entertaining,” PACE senior Sarah Gallman said. “They were interactive, helping people remember the message that they represented.”

This year, PACE decided to have its members visit classrooms throughout the week. Members talked about Red Ribbon Week, advocated its goal and distributed handouts to students.

“PACE was informative and built up anticipation for the drug awareness assembly,” junior Nicole Barman said.

Wilson believes that this year’s Red Ribbon Week and the assembly were both successes.

“The audience was always engaged and paying attention to what the speakers were saying,” Wilson said.