Excelsior students march against drugs
Doctors agree that when it comes to our health, prevention is the best medicine. That’s one reason why students at a city high school are trying to stop drug abuse before it takes hold of their lives.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
This morning, the students of Excelsior High School took to the streets, eagerly celebrating the official opening of the high school’s annual drug awareness week.
Yolanda Martinez, Counsellor, Excelsior High School
“Throughout Belize City, whether you are directly living within a situation where you are expose to drugs or have free access to it. Whether that’s the case or not, we are all affected by the effects of drugs in some way or the other because it is all around us. We were not looking at what the situation is here at school, we were looking at creating awareness within our students so that when they are faced with such a situation, they can make a wise decision.”
In 1998, the National Drug Abuse Control Council, NDACC, conducted a survey which revealed that close to sixty percent of the students interviewed from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions have used drugs or knew someone who has experimented with a substance. Excelsior students believe their school’s activity is only one way to address the problem, but admit that in the end, their peers have to make their own decisions.
Orlando Santos, Student, Excelsior High School
“There is no perfect person from my point of view. If you have that sense of knowledge, like our drug week that we’re having here at Excelsior High School…If we have that to draw back and have notes or whatever, to learn about it, to be aware of what it is, therefore I think that we’re not weak, we shouldn’t be weak, because of what we’ve learned here at excelsior.”
Rhonda Flowers, Miss Excelsior
“I believe that it is they who control themselves. People can influence them in things like this, but it’s they who need to say these strong words, “I can’t” or “I will not.”
Throughout the week, the students will be involved in sessions that will look at how drugs affect their health and education. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
Excelsior’s Drug week is being held under the motto: “Don’t allow drugs to let your life pass you by. Stick to education and hold your head high.” Meanwhile, NDACC recently conducted another survey on drug use in schools. The data will be made available by April.
