On Friday, January 30th, 90 fifth grade students graduated from the D.A.R.E. program. D.A.R.E. stands for ‘Drug Abuse Resistance Education’ and is a program ran by the Greene County Sheriffs Office, and funded through community donations. The aim of the program is inform younger students of the dangers of alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drug use. Created in 1983 by the Los Angeles Unified School District, D.A.R.E. is one of the largest drug resistance programs in the nation, and around the world. This program is ran by various law enforcement officers and volunteers from all over the country. The program puts officers in the classrooms of students in 5th or 6th grade, where they meet once a week to discuss the various topics such as tobacco use, alcohol, bullying, and decision making.

Greene County Deputy Darrell Wagner has been with the D.A.R.E. program for over ten years now, and is extremely passionate about the D.A.R.E. program. “Our main goal is to educate our younger students about the many challenges they will face in the years to come. We want students to know how to make good choices, and how to get out of certain situations that they aren’t comfortable with. We also need to make sure they understand the consequences of their actions, and how much a poor choice can affect them,” said Officer Wagner, “We hope to give them coping mechanisms to help avoid issues and deal with stress, while simultaneously raising self esteem.”

It can be hard to raise awareness with limited funds, so the Sheriffs Office advertises in any way it can. The biggest method of advertising they use is the D.A.R.E. car. The D.A.R.E. car is a dodge charger that is complete with custom wheels, window tint, and large D.A.R.E. decals. Officer Wagner also commented, “The car was purchased using seized drug money, and is intended to be a true conversation piece. This means that the dealers are essentially our biggest benefactors, and help provide us with our best method of prevention: education.”

The graduation ceremony occurred at 2:10 on the 30th, with many of the student’s parents in attendance. As part of the program, the students were required to write an essay on anything they learned in the program, with several top essays being read at the ceremony. Each student was given a certificate of completion, and a t-shirt. The top essay writers also received a special prize, on top of the standard awards.