By Angelina Vollucci
Staff Writer
As the 2010-11 school year comes to a close, People Attaining Complete Equality will have completed a decade of service in raising drug awareness on campus and informing students of the dangers of modern teenage life. P.A.C.E. depends heavily on the voluntary participation of the student body and teachers, thereby lacking important student input on issues presented.
The program aims to inform students on the issues prevalent among high school students and allows them to develop their own approaches to these dangerous matters. P.A.C.E. has been active for 10 years, during which it has become well-known for its assemblies that focus on a wide range of issues, such as substance abuse and eating disorders.
P.A.C.E holds assemblies every two months during the school year, yet there is only one mandatory program, and that is “Every 15 Minutes”.
Allowing teachers to decide directly on assembly attendance is detrimental to both students and P.A.C.E. Students unable to attend miss an opportunity to benefit from the program’s several messages.
The students in P.A.C.E. determine which issues to present at the assemblies. P.A.C.E needs to include more student input to avoid ineffective assemblies. Earlier in the year, P.A.C.E. conducted a foreign genocide assembly, but it was largely ineffective because P.A.C.E. failed to connect to students, according to current P.A.C.E. member Lauren LeBlanc.
“Every 15 Minutes” is an effective assembly because it paints a personal and realistic picture of the dangers of drunk driving. Instead of offering a myriad of minor and optional assemblies and exhibits, P.A.C.E. must turn its focus to less numerous but more involving and grand events.
Teachers should be required to take their classes to two assemblies a year. However, forcing students to attend assemblies has a downside: students will be attending out of obligation rather than out of interest. Also, forcing teachers to attend assemblies interrupts instruction time. However, increasing attendance and disseminating more information is better than inaction.
Substance abuse is a complex issue that is difficult to fully prevent. Even with programs like P.A.C.E. and counseling, such activities continue to occur as stated by Vice Principal Jaime Mancilla and only so much can be done to prevent them. The administration is utilizing its resources like P.A.C.E., which can be credited for informing the study body of issues that are ultimately beyond their control.
To strengthen their efforts in reaching out to students, P.A.C.E. should seek more student input. Members should distribute ballots of potential topics at the beginning of the year allowing students to decide what issues to present.
By seeking student input, P.A.C.E. could create more appealing assemblies and increase student involvement, benefitting students and the program. Through these steps P.A.C.E. can more efficiently meet its far-reaching, admirable goals.
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