Red Ribbon Week takes place every year in October, from the 23rd to the 31st. It focuses on drug, tobacco, and violence prevention, and is the largest and longest-running drug-use prevention campaign in the United States. Brighter Horizons Academy is no stranger to hosting Red Ribbon Week, and this year, the event represented not just physiological health, but psychological health as well.
Like every Red Ribbon Week before it, this year’s Red Ribbon Week, run by sophomore Bisma Nagaria, focused on a different idea promoting drug prevention each day, with a special activity to go along with it. On Monday, boys wore red shirts, while girls wore pink hijabs or abayas. On Tuesday, people wore sunglasses to “shade out drugs.” On Wednesday, people wore jerseys to “team up against drugs.” On Thursday, people wore hats to “put a cap on drugs.” And on Friday, people were to give each other compliments.
Making Red Ribbon Week a success took an immense effort. It required several speeches to be made, posters to be drawn, and people to be notified, and required collaboration between the Student Council and the Leadership team. Dr. Leila Kayed, high school principal, assisted in introducing new ideas for Red Ribbon Week.
“Dr. Leila wanted us to include the guidance counselor…” Bisma said. Mrs. Einas Alabd, the school’s social-emotional counselor, joined Brighter Horizons Academy this year and played a critical role in transforming Red Ribbon Week.
Beyond collaborating with the leadership team, Bisma also had to decide what Red Ribbon Week meant to her.
“Red Ribbon Week is about alcohol and drug awareness and prevention, but I think there’s a lot more that goes into it,” she said. “I think that Red Ribbon Week is not just about physically keeping you healthy, but mentally keeping you healthy.”
Bisma emphasized the importance of mental health through activities such as hosting a video recording session where students and staff discussed the ways they cope with stress in their daily lives, as well as organizing speeches on the benefits of sleep and stress management.
After Red Ribbon Week concluded, Bisma shared her thoughts on the event. “I would say it was a success, especially since it was my first time planning,” she said. “I think the one thing we didn’t get to do was the guest speaker speech.”
Ultimately, to Bisma, Red Ribbon Week is more than a drug-free campaign; it is a representation of the power of overcoming the hardships one faces in life, as well as the ways people cope with various trials and tribulations they come across.
“…My main theme was encouraging people to find what keeps them going through hardship…” Bisma said. “…Saying that you will never have bad days is impossible. It’s more ‘find what keeps you you during the bad days.'”
