The Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) is a high school club that focuses on encouraging students to make healthy choices. Currently SADD is getting ready for Red Ribbon Week.
SADD is sponsored by science teacher Lindsay Dunning. According to Dunning, SADD has been around for over 20 years.
The goal of SADD is to inform students of unhealthy decisions and encourage them to avoid making those decisions. Dunning said, “In SADD we have a lot of crazy fun, we just do it in a way that promotes healthy choices. We try to educate the student body on potential consequences of bad decisions and how to replace those decisions with something better.”
SADD hosts multiple events throughout the year. SADD officer Kenna Fishback (12) said, “We have had our SADD kickoff after a home football game where we had bounce houses, karaoke, bingo, music, and pizza.” The kickoff was after the September 12th game against Buffalo.
The next upcoming event for SADD is Red Ribbon Week from October 28-31. Red Ribbon Week is a national campaign to promote a drug free lifestyle. At Fair Grove it is being celebrated by having a themed day each day with activities and prizes for participating students.
Each school day has a different theme. Dunning explained, “Tuesday is Red Day, Wednesday is Adam Sandler Day, Thursday is BBQ dads v. Soccer Moms, and Friday is Halloween costume day.”
SADD has a cabinet of student officers that run the club. The officers are seniors Carson Trussell, Leila Huff, Dylan George, Kenna Fishback, Brenna Boatwright, Quincy Williams, Carley Lepold, Hali Stokes, Addyson Nunley, and junior Brylee Mallard.
SADD has a meeting each month to discuss health topics. Dunning said, “Typically meetings have a whole-group talk (sometimes with a guest speaker), small group discussion, and usually some games.”
Student officers are in charge of preparing the monthly meetings. Fishback explained, “We have all of our future meetings planned out based on the month and different officers are in charge of each one.”
With SADD being around for over 20 years, it has fostered a community within Fair Grove. Fishback said, “The community definitely makes SADD enjoyable. This is because all students get to encourage others to make better and more fun choices instead of destructive ones.”
The purpose of SADD is to help kids make smart choices. Fishback noted, “The club helps students make better decisions and shows them the benefits of making the right choices rather than the destructive choice. Not only can this benefit students, it can save their lives.”
