Cle Elum Students Work to Rebuild Community's Reputation
It's been nearly two months since nine Central Washington University students were hospitalized after an off-campus party near Roslyn. Now, the middle school and high schools there are trying to show their students the dangers and trouble underage drinking can lead to.
20 students from the "Draw the Line" campaign aimed to show their peers how drinking can lead to a social and legal headaches. During an assembly, they showed students the laundry list of people they'll meet, and have to deal with if they get arrested for underage drinking.
K.C. Andrews ,who volunteered, said, "most people don't know all the things that could happen. They just think they get arrested and that's it."
480 students made the pledge to refrain from underage drinking. Some were rewarded with prizes like candy, even an i-pod shuffle. Others hope it will reward their community with a better reputation, after it was thrown into the national spotlight.
"Our community was hit hard and we're fighting back and I'm really proud of our students and our community. Cle Elum's a great place to live," Dawn Bass, the district's drug counselor, said.
After the assembly the students filed outside where each of them held a piece of paper with a line drawn down the middle. They're hoping their message will show the state, there's no place for underage drinking in this community. They also hope to show whomever's watching, they won't be defined by the events of the past two months.
High School student Devon Winters said,"now it's like a whole new thing and everyone knows that we don't want to do underage drinking and stuff like that."
"We're just setting a good example and letting everyone know we don't fool around with drinking," Cle Elum Junior Greg McDaniel said.