VILLA PARK : Drug-Free Message Is Brought to Life

More than 1,500 students at Cerro Villa Middle School got the message that “drug use is life abuse” on Wednesday--in living red letters 60 feet tall.

With their bodies, the youngsters from Cerro Villa and adjacent Serrano Elementary School spelled “DRUG FREE WAY TO BE” on the Cerro Villa football field. A sheriff’s deputy photographed the scene from a helicopter several hundred feet above. The students, who wore red shirts or crepe-paper togas and fluorescent pink wristbands with anti-drug slogans, created the display as part of “Red Ribbon Week,” a nationwide drug-education effort.

Seventh-grader Kristy Grant, 12, said the event created “positive peer pressure” to steer students away from drug abuse.

“It gives students a feeling of group belonging, something they can feel proud about, that they’re drug-free and this is the way to be. If students know that the cool kids are doing good, they’ll want to do it,” Grant said.

“I know a couple of people this might bring around. And this might help others not get started in the first place,” added eighth-grader Sarah Yi, 14.

After the photos were taken, the helicopter landed on the baseball field and sheriff’s deputies accepted large scrolls signed by more than 1,000 students who pledged to remain drug-free.

Seventh-grader Misty Sutterfield, 12, said that including the elementary school students was important because they are impressionable and can be taught early to resist drug use.

“The elementary school kids look up to us. If we say no, they’ll want to say no,” said Sutterfield.

Cerro Villa Principal Ralph Jameson said this is the third year the school has organized the event. The photos will be enlarged and posted around the school and will also fill a page in the yearbook.

“Kids will point out where they are throughout the year. It will be sort of a subliminal reminder of the event,” he said.

Greg Overton, 13, said the event was more successful at getting its message across than it would have been in a classroom. “It’s better instead of just telling people about it because kids don’t really listen in class,” he said.

For many of the youngsters, the chance to join in the display and present the scroll was exciting, but not the most eagerly anticipated aspect of the event.

“Many people have been looking forward to seeing the helicopter,” said fifth-grade class representative David Soper, 11.