Red Ribbon Week may seem like fun themes, exciting games, and an opportunity for free dress, but there’s a deeper meaning beyond the surface. Red Ribbon Week was created to raise awareness for drug and alcohol abuse, especially among students. Its purpose is to warn students of substance abuse dangers and give them resources to find help and guidance. 

Counselor Mrs. Bascom is helping run Red Ribbon Week and shared that the week is about “bringing up the conversation.” Even if the message doesn’t perfectly reach the students, it brings up the topic to get students thinking.

She hopes the speaker Rocky’s message was impactful. His side of the story from the perspective of the DEA was very black and white. The people are making and selling and using illegal and harmful drugs, and then there are the people with big guns whose job it is to stop it. There’s no nuanced gray area when it comes to this topic. You either harm yourself and the people around you, or you choose abstinence from it and peace.

Freshman student Matthew Corney thought that the speaker was “impactful and emotional, I almost cried, it was really sad.” Rocky’s presentation featured content showcasing people who have suffered and died from drugs and how uncool it was. He made the DEA not the bad guys ruining the fun, but instead the good guys who intervened. 

Cathedral is focused not only on making Red Ribbon Week a fun experience for students but also on spreading the message of the dangers of drugs and alcohol. They hope to keep this message present not just this week but throughout the school year.

Many clubs on campus are focused on students’ mental health and one in particular. The You Are Loved Club on campus is focused on awareness and prevention of students’ drug and alcohol abuse. The club’s founder, Sophia Nasrawi ’27, shared that she was inspired to start the club because she “wanted to share the harms of substance abuse with the community.”

Cathedral’s campus is filled with teens who are exposed to these vices constantly. Whether it’s through their friends, neighbors, or strangers, people are continually trying to sell their products. A product that is marketed as something that will free you of stress and harm and will make you happy. It’s false marketing and it’s up to the students to say no and think twice before buying into these fallacies.

Red Ribbon Week is an opportunity for students to get more support. Nasrawi also stated, “I want students to know that they are not alone and that there are so many resources to help them through whatever challenges they may face so that they can avoid falling into addiction.”

Drug prevention is not just law enforcement trying to keep the peace but it also involves the people who are victims of the disease of addiction. There aren’t good and bad people, just people who make decisions and it’s up to you to make the decision for yourself. There are many resources on and off campus to help students, therapists, and counselors on campus as well as AA or Al-Anon meetings and Alateen groups in San Diego all ready to help people who need them.