Lee Pulaski, lpulaski@shawanoleader.com
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Shawano Community High School freshmen, from left, Caitlin Drews, Rachel Marquette, Emily Jones and Cassandra Whitehouse explain a lunchtime trivia challenge to another student Wednesday morning. The trivia table is one of many things the girls have done to educate their peers about drug and alcohol abuse.
Six freshman girls at Shawano Community High School are doing their part to get the word out to their peers about drug and alcohol issues.
What started out as a service project for the Destination Imagination program has taken on a life of its own for Rachel Marquette, Emily Jones, Cassie Whitehouse, Caitlin Drew, Lexxus Liebe and Shannae DeBroux. The girls, calling themselves Above and Beyond, have contacted politicians, taken their message to the airwaves, and used social media to educate about the dangers of underage alcohol consumption and drug abuse for all ages.
“We’re trying to raise drug awareness at Shawano High,” Jones said. “If we can at least educate one person about it, it’ll be a success.”
The Shawano County Board unanimously approved a resolution last week declaring Jan. 27-31 to be Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week. Board Chairman Jerry Erdmann brought it forward on his own at the girls’ request.
The girls also took a trip to Green Bay and worked with radio station WIXX to create multiple spots regarding drugs and alcohol facts and statistics regarding teens. The statistics were expected to run this week from 2:30-5:30 p.m. when teens are riding the bus home or driving from school and listening to the radio.
Announcements have been made in the morning at both the high school and Shawano Community Middle School, as well. The girls have spent their lunch periods all week manning a trivia table to see how much their friends and other students know about drugs and alcohol.
The girls also created a Facebook page linked to the National Drug Fact Week website. The page has links to other sites with more information.
“We’re trying to make students more aware so that hopefully they won’t do drugs or alcohol,” Marquette said. “It’s a big issue around here.”
Some of the statistics researched by the students have disturbed them. Drews learned that Wisconsin has the highest rate of binge drinking in the country, while Marquette is concerned about the number of deaths, as well as the cost involved to deal with drug and alcohol issues.
“There are more than 1,500 deaths each year in Wisconsin due to drug and alcohol abuse. Excessive alcohol consumption costs Wisconsin over $6.8 billion every year,” Marquette said. “We hope that, with what we’re doing, (local students) won’t make destructive decisions.”
The girls’ Destination Imagination coach, Emily Schwartz, said she was amazed about how much initiative the girls have taken. The girls had seven different projects that could be done, and they chose the community service project, she said.
“They are their own leaders,” Schwartz said. “Working with kids like these absolutely restores the future of our country. They’re doing it simply for the good of the cause.”
The girls will be taking their project to a regional contest in March, and if they win, they’ll continue to the state DI competition.
ONLINE
• The Above and Beyond website can found at www.facebook.com/Aboveandbeyonddrugsandalcohol.
• National statistics about drug and alcohol abuse can be found at drugfactsweek.drugabuse.gov.