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Show Red Ribbon Week Westminster Participates In Red Ribbon Week by Bill Kilpack Forum editor National Red Ribbon Week runs from OcL 20-21991, promoting a nation-wid- e campaign for alcohol and drug awareness and reduced substance abuse. Ginny Mead, coordinator of the Westminster alcohol and drug prevention and education program, said, Its important as a large media effort, because so many people are involved. Thats the power of it On Monday, Oct. 21, there was a Red Ribbon- Cutting Ceremony at the state capitol with Govenor Bangerter, followed by a celebrity football game. This week on Westminsters campus, there are information booths in Shaw Center, covering topics such as drug and alcohol abuse, its physical and emotional effects and ways to deal with them, Mead said. Many of the effects of abuse are immediate, such as traffic accidents or overdose, Mead said, but there are also longer-tereffects, such as codependency, emotional trauma and physical health defects. The health effects are so myriad, but your life itself suffers until the health problems begin to show, she said. On Tuesday and Wednesday, there will be a wrecked car on display on campus that was actually in a rollover due to drunk driving, she said. Its purpose is to raise student awareness about drinking and driving. Youre not if you drink only being and drive , but getting in the way of others 6, . - m self-destructi- ve There will also be red ribbons handed out on campus, attached to Atomic Fire Ball candy. This ties in with the national theme Its Hot To Not, she said. This years National Red Ribbon Week campaign focuses on the new law aimed at school zones. The law was passed by the 1990 legislature, and expanded in 1991, taking a stronger d stand on curtailing crimes near where children congregate. The new law places stiffer penalties on those arrested for drugs or alcohol near school campuses. Westminster falls under this law, Mead said. The Forum, in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, is sponsoring an expanded issue, focusing on one consequence that can result from drug and alcohol abuse: drug-fre- e drug-relate- cancer. Red Ribbon Week is sponsored by the National Federation of Parents (NFP) for Drug-Fre- e Youth. NFP is an organization of concerned individuals dedicated to inyouth by creasing the number of drug-fre- e encouraging them to lead productive, lives. healthy, drug-fre- e Last year, Westminster took part in the national program as well, through the statewide Red Ribbon Run from Logan to St instituGeorge. Each tion was was responsible for a sponsoring a section of the road along the run track, said Mead. According to the Red Ribbon Handbook, the National Red Ribbon Campaign is designed to: higher-educati- on Create awareness concerning the alco- community. Build community coalitions to implement comprehensive alcohol and other drug prevention strategies. Support healthy, drug-fre- e lifestyles. Encourage neighborhood prevention planning and activities. Although Red Ribbon Week focuses on drug abuse as a whole, Westminster takes a more specific emphasis on alcohol abuse and drinking and driving, Mead said. On March 9, 1985, hundreds of law enforcement officers gathered in Calexico, Calif., to pay their last respects to Enrique Camarcna, a Drug Enforcement Agent who was brutally murdered in Mexico. In response to Cam arenas death, NFP parent groups across the nation wore and displayed red ribbons to develop an attitude of intolerance to the use of drugs. Its not good that someone had to die to start it, but i t reminds us that drug abuse can lead to death, Mead said. The red ribbon became the symbol to eliminate the demand for drugs, just as the yellow ribbon symbolized the hostages in Iran. Using the red ribbon, NFP wants to present a unified visible commitment toward the creation of a drug-fre- e America. NFP, established in 1980, is the only organization involving parents whose sole purpose is drug prevention. The U.S. government has recognized it this organization as the voice of parents and has sent representatives of NFP to other countries to speak about the parent movement and its impact. non-prof- rights, Mead said. hol and other drug problems facing every City wide Cancer Model Won't Let Cancer Stop Her from relatives Screening Available At A Low Cost The Cancer Screening and Prevention Program, Utah Department of Health, in cooperation with the American. Cancer Society, is providing cancer-screenin- g ics for women. clin- The clinics include Pap test, pelvic and breast examination, blood pressure check and hemocult kits to test for colorectal cancer. All women 18 years of age or older, or who arc sexually active, who have not a Pap test during the past year are encouraged to attend. Cost ranges from $5 to $25, based on annual family income and family size. The following are some times and places for cancer-screenin- g clinics: GovNov. 4, p.m., ernment Building, room Nov. 6, p.m., Copperview Commu:30 City-Coun- ty 00 1- -7 nity Center Nov. 12, 8:30 p.m.. Granger East Stake building Nov. 13, 5:15-- 7 p.m., Cannorie Health Building, room 105 Little CottonNov. 14, 8 a.m.-noo- n, wood Stake building y Nov. 18, p.m., Government Building, room Nov. 19, 5:30-7:3- 0 p.m., Redwood a.m.-3:3- 0 City-Count- 00 Multipurpose Center For appointments or locations and times of later screenings, call 538-671- 2. 4 by Matt Thurm" Kellogg Forum staff writer Emma Schmidt, 17, has accomplished quite a lot in her short, but remarkable life. Now a senior at Cottonwood High School, the honors' student has made a name for herself in the fashion industry as a model and she had bone cancer. Schmidt has qualified as a semi-finali- st in model searches nationwide, graced the cover of Salt Lake City magazine, and has been featured in other national magazines. All this was done despite her illness. In January 1990, Schmidt, then a freshman at Cottonwood High School, told her mother that she had discovered a lump on the upper part of her breast and under her arm. She was rushed to the Primary Childrens Medical Center where a biopsy showed she had Ewings sarcoma, a bone cancer which began in her rib and slowly moved into her heart and lungs. As with all chemotherapy patients, Emma lost her hair and eyebrows, but she soon came up with creative ways to cover her head with scarves and hats. ' She gained confidence to attend school with her head uncovered, and her classmates displayed the understanding and maturity needed to accept Emma as who she was, with or without hair. She was even elected as Cottonwoods sophomore class secretary. Her campaign posters showed a drawing of a bald head with the words Vote for Emma printed on it. The past year and a half has provided love and support her friends, h foundation, an organization developed to grant children with life threatening illnesses recieve one special wish. Wishes children make range anywhere from a day in the park to a trip to Disneyland. Schmidts wish was to get her start in modeling. Make-A-Wis- h arra'nged to compile a portfolio of Emma and enrolled her in an modeling course at McCartys Modeling agency. These expenses can add up to thousands of dollars. Since then, Schmidt has become accustomed to TV cameras, photo shoots and fashion shows. Last May, Schmidt was flown to New York to be interviewed by a television station that asked her what she said were pretty dumb questions. Schmidts is a success story among cancer patients. Her chemotherapy treatments ended last May and her checkup two weeks ago showed no further cancerous tumors. Schmidt said she is now planning to do more modeling after graduation, but she is also thinking about attending college. Interested in both science and creative writing, Schmidt said she might go to whatever college will accept me. That shouldnt be difficult, since she is now her junior class president and has a 3.8 arid the 11-we- Make-A-Wis- ek cumulative GPA. I feel great she said. I have grown back one inch of hair and I can almost style it Here's To Your Health A Service of the Prevention Program As part of Red Ribbon Week, Id like to share some statistics from the Dan Jones & Associates, Inc. survey conducted on our campus this year. Our college population consists of a majority of people who do not abuse alcohol and other substances legal or illegal. The following statistics report how many g people engage in behaviors: The percentage of regular users (at least once in the past month) of alcohol has increased from 1990, but students report drinking less alcohol on each occasion. This is a major change for the better fewer students arc drinking to get drunk when they do drink. Sixty percent of students have families that have not been negatively impacted by alcoholism. Ninety-tw- o percent of students have never had someone suggest that they might have a problem with alcohol. The percentage of students using tobacco and cocaine within the past 30 days has dropped in comparison to past data, as has the lifetime usage of alcohol and analgesics. Thirty-eigpercent of students are not regular users of alcohol. Seventy one percent arc not regular users of tobacco. Eighty-nin- e percent are not regular users of marijuana. Ninety-thre- e percent arc not regular users of hallucinogens. Ninety-eigare not regular users of of analgesics. Ninety-nin- e percent are not regular users of tranquilizers. The incidence of other kinds of drug use on campus, notably cocaine, barbiturates, inhalants and heroine is very low. A great area of concern remains drinking and driving. Up from 1990 figures, current drinkers at the college drove an average of four times a month after having at least four alcoholic beverages within an hour. Seventeen percent of students feel they have some type of problem stemming from their drinking behavior that is serious enough to warrant help from a professional. This is above the national average for the whole population, which is 12 percent. The changes the data are showing is encouraging. Westminster College has a student body who, if they drink, do so responsibly. The prevention and education program is on campus to continue to get the word out about the hazards of abusing substances, and to be there to help those who are experiencing problems with alcohol or drugs. Ginny Mead, coordinator of the Alcohol and Drug Prevention and Education Program on campus, holds an MS. in educational psychology. To find out about support groups, or if you have any questions on substance abuse, contact Mead inShaw 110, self-destructi- drug-abusin- ht -- ht ext. 144. ForumPage 5 |