Story and photos by Jeannette Cruz
GCU News Bureau
Drug and alcohol abuse is nowhere near as prevalent at Grand Canyon University as it is on college campuses across the country, yet GCU students and staff launched the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Campaign on Monday to help students make educated choices in this area.
“At GCU we are fairly straight-edge, and we are trying to keep students away from drugs for as long as possible,” said Sean Thomason (below), a senator on the Associated Students of GCU (ASGCU). “The hope of the campus is to produce and send off leaders into the world. That means having people who are educated on the destructive behaviors of such substances.”
Drugs and alcohol are prohibited on the GCU campus, and GCU D.A.R.E was organized by ASGCU and the Student Engagement staff with the hope of preventing students from trying drugs and falling into substance abuse. D.A.R.E. is a national substance abuse prevention education program originally founded in 1983 in Los Angeles.
Students and staff gathered at the Promenade to distribute purple, silicone bracelets, answer questions and hand out free snacks. Among activities was “driving” a tricycle wearing goggles that simulate alcoholic vision. A blackboard listed sobering statistics about marijuana and it was also the perfect opportunity to invite students to share their knowledge with a short online survey.
Contact Jeannette Cruz at (602) 639-6631 or [email protected].
