Red ribbon week promotes awareness

 Red Ribbon week is an annual period that raises awareness to the dangers of drug abuse, which Prairie View A&M University will take part in from Oct. 22-27.
 Many students however are not familiar with Red Ribbon Week.
"Yeah I heard something, but I thought it was about AIDS," said Charles Rhyner, a freshman criminal justice major.
Students feel drug awareness is something children should be knowledgeable of, but with the number of deaths growing as a result of drugs among people between the ages of 18-25 people should become educated at an older age.
Every 48 seconds someone gets paralyzed by a drunken driving incident and more than three people under the age of 21 die each day in alcohol impaired driving collisions.
A series of events will be held during the week such as the crashed car site, the Refresh Yo'Self Happy Hour on The Hill, and Sean Carter will be coming to speak to students.
Carter was drinking while driving and fell victim to paralysis from the crash that followed.
The events will help students want to take up the cause.
"If I don't see other people supporting the cause why should I? I know more students would care if there was more advertising," said Ashley Madison, a sophomore music major.
The number one problem on college campuses is binge drinking.
Underage drinking costs the United States more than $58 billion every year, and people who drink are 50 times more likely to use cocaine.
"Alcohol damages your liver cells and interferes with the way you think," says Dr. Marie-Therese Simms, a biology professor. "Your liver works twice as much to get it out which eventually shortens your life."
Drug abuse usually starts around middle school age and then progresses to an even more unhealthy level.
Twenty percent of eighth grade students report that they have tried marijuana; which is the leading gateway drug in the United States.
"Once you get in middle school everyone stops caring because that's when kids really start experimenting with drugs," said Ewunike Akinshegun, a sophomore marketing major.
Isis McCraw, student program coordinator, would like students to become educated about the effects of drug abuse and drunk driving during Red Ribbon Week.
"Drinking and driving just doesn't mix, you think you know your level of tolerance, but until you go overboard you really don't know," said McCraw.