Red Ribbon Week- Tyler Style

Unrelated duck photo

I took Leila to a birthday party this past weekend and I overheard tweenager explaining dress up for Red Ribbon Week to another mom. Since I didn't know exactly what this was, a quick iphone google search filled me in. According to the Red Ribbon Coalition website, "Red Ribbon Week brings millions of people together to raise awareness regarding the need for alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention, early intervention, and treatment services." It was adopted nationally by Nancy 
Reagan and reminds me a lot of the Just Say No campaign of the 80's.


Back to the tween... she explained that each day they get to dress up in different clothes; Monday- camo, Tuesday- cowboy boots, Wednesday- dress like a hobo... WHAT? Dress like a hobo?!? What the hell? First of all, who says "hobo"? That's clearly both dated and non-p.c. Homelessness is just not funny. Addtionally, what could that possibly have to do with keeping kids off drugs? I turned out of the girl's conversation, but made a mental footnote to find out more about this when I got home.
Turns out the girl went to a school in on of Tyler's surrounding towns that doesn't have an elaborate website. However, Tyler ISD participates in Red Ribbon Week and allows each campus to pick their theme days. After reading the list, it seems to me like one person with decent marketing skills or quick wit should come up with a master list for the district to follow.  Can is really be that hard to think of five catchy anti-drug phrases to go with costumes? "Lei Off Drugs!- Wear your favorite Hawaiian theme clothing or a colorful shirt" and "Too Bright For Drugs!- Wear brightly colored and neon clothing." are ok, but the others could use some work.


Here's my favorites, as directly copied from the website:  
Bell is WILD ABOUT good choices!- Wear your Bell “Wild about…” shirt or other animal print clothing!
We are “PAWS”itively Drug Free.  Students can bring  a stuffed animal to school for the day.
Spot me being drug free.  Wear polka dotted shirt and uniform pants.
 Wear Camouflage! “Be a hero”.
Put a Cap on Drugs. Wear a cap.
Team up, stay in the game and be drug-free. Wear team jersey or T-shirt.
 COWBOY UP AND SAY NO! – Wear all western wear
Don’t Let Drugs Make You Crazy” day. Wear mismatched socks. (Socks different colors 
from one another.)


I think the last one is my favorite, since they had to explain what "mismatched" means. I also think it's funny that many of the schools have a "dress like a hippy" day. Seems ironic to dress like a hippy to promote the war against drugs.  
You can read each school's theme days here.