Snowball commits to soberness throughout Fall

Snowball+decorated+bulletin+boards+around+school+with+tiny+red+ribbons+that+represents+a+certain+number+of+deaths+due+to+drugs%2Falcohol+each+year

Snowball decorated bulletin boards around school with tiny red ribbons that represents a certain number of deaths due to drugs/alcohol each year

Gleanne Rosales, Broadcast Editor

During this month of November, Operation Snowball gave out peace signs to different classes in order to show gratitude. When asked what gratitude has to do with promoting soberness, club sponsor Ms. Patricia Muldoon said that showing gratitude can actually relieve stress and she hopes that being thankful can lead students away from the stress that can cause them to drink and do drugs. Plus, Thanksgiving is coming up so the idea is also festive.

But why the peace sign?

“We were gonna do turkeys out of hands at first,” said Muldoon, “but it would take a while to cut out hands for each individual turkey. So we needed something simpler.” It didn’t hit Muldoon to use a peace sign until she got home and asked her daughter. The nine year old suggested a peace sign to symbolize the peace that the Pilgrims and indians had to learn to get along and work together. Impressed with her daughter’s idea, Muldoon and the rest of Operation Snowball have created the design for Leyden’s gratitude wall.

Adolescents, though some may say are “too young to have stress,” undergo quite a lot of it. With the struggle of finding their true identities, finding friends, and preparing for the future, teenagers develop insecurities and stress. But also as a teen, we just want to have fun! Unfortunately, in order to cope with the stress or have fun, and due to peer pressure or influences from the media, some teens turn to dangerous substances such as drugs and alcohol.

Here at Leyden, in order to teach kids how to have fun and relax without the use of drugs and alcohol, Operation Snowball has been creating different opportunities for others to stay sober. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “young people who try alcohol do not realize the damaging effects that drinking can have on their own lives, their families, and their communities.” Underage drinking includes 4,358 deaths each year from various accidents such as car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning, and other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning. More than 190,000 people under 21 have been sent to emergency rooms due to serious injuries from drinking. Other risks of underage drinking includes impaired judgement, increased risk of being physically or sexually assaulted, and brain development problems. Add the use of other drugs among all age groups, that totals up to 570,000 deaths a year.

Snowball gave students, teachers, and staff the opportunity to create a pledge right when they enter the building by leaving a red handprint on the wall at the front hallway.

“The red hand prints were for Red Ribbon Week,” said Snowball leader Ariana Cardenas. Red Ribbon Week is an annually-observed alcohol, tobacco, and other drug and violence prevention awareness campaign, usually held in October. Cardenas said that the hand prints symbolize the pledge to keep the pledger’s hands free of drugs/alcohol.

Other ways Snowball has promoted soberness is by tying red ribbons around trees at the front of the school and decorating bulletin boards with smaller red ribbons. Each ribbon symbolizes a certain amount of deaths that happen a year due to alcohol/drugs.

Despite Red Ribbon Week being over, Cardenas believes it’s important to continue spreading awareness, especially since accidents are still happening from alcohol/drug use. She added, “When I’m older, I wouldn’t want to worry about my kids being in danger because of those things. If we raise awareness now, we could prevent accidents in the future.”

“Teens will do alcohol and drugs and they won’t know how to handle it, “ said Giselle Cabrera, another Snowball leader. “High schoolers need to know other ways to have fun because it’s just not necessary for them to put themselves in that kind of danger.”

With a good start during Red Ribbon Week in October and now the gratitude wall for November, it’ll be interesting to see what Snowball has planned for the following months. As risks remain in teenagers lives because of alcohol and drugs, it’s important for the club to continuously promote soberness and raise awareness.