Red Ribbon Pledge
While there is a different theme for Red Ribbon Week each year, the Red Ribbon Pledge never changes. It is:
No Use of
Illegal Drugs, No Illegal Use of Legal Drugs
- or -
No Uso de
Drogas Ilegales, No Uso Ilegal de Drogas Legales
The Red Ribbon pledge is a no-nonsense, clear, consistent and even
powerful pledge - one that all of our students, parents, teachers and community leaders
should be willing to make - and more importantly - expected to
keep! It is a pledge that makes sense to students and parents alike.
Why Does It Matter?
As you develop and host your Red Ribbon Celebration, you must present credible and
consistent messages to your audience that will endure over time. Carefully consider
what you say and how you say it when designing
prevention related pledges and slogans. "Drug free", for example, is a rhetorical term
often spoken with out consideration of its literal meaning. Consider the following:
-
Our
society utilizes medications to serve both physical and mental health.
-
Medicines
prescribed by a physician and over the counter remedies such as aspirins, cough syrup,
antibiotics, pain killers and other legal drugs are used to treat common, everyday
illnesses.
-
There are students
and teachers at your school who are not drug free - even though
they are obeying the law. You need to remember to include - rather
than exclude - them in your prevention efforts.
Young men and women interpret the statements we make quite literally.
Often times, they
are suspicious of what adults say and are quick to notice
inconsistencies in the messages we convey. Therefore, you must strive to develop prevention messages that are
seamless, timeless and consistent for students of all ages. If you don’t, you may
jeopardize the legitimacy and credibility of your schools prevention efforts at a time
when young people need legitimate and credible information the most.
In addition to the Red Ribbon Pledge, you are
encouraged to develop slogans and pledges that use phrases like:
"Alcohol Free"
"Tobacco Free"
"Illegal Drug
Free"
The Red Ribbon
Celebration also provides an opportunity for you to promote the fact that
MOST students do not use alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. By
promoting this truth, you normalize the healthy behaviors that the
majority of young people
choose. (Learn more
about Social Norms Marketing by visiting
www.socialnorms.org)
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