S.A.D.D. Sends a Powerful Message

The Students Against Destructive Decisions (S.A.D.D.) Club has been active at Amityville Memorial High School throughout the year, both in school and in the community. An organization recognized in many high schools across America, S.A.D.D.’s mission focuses on building strong peer relationships, teaching through role modeling, and making decisions that set a healthier, safer course in the lives of young adults. Each month, the students of Amityville’s S.A.D.D. Club, led by English teacher and club advisor Jennifer Pentangelo, participate in various activities to raise awareness of destructive decisions students are often faced with, and unfortunately follow through with. Some of the club’s most successful programs that inspired student participation were the Red Ribbon Initiative and Grim Reaper Event.
The Red Ribbon Initiative focused on enlightening students to the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Embracing the concept of community outreach, students created posters, distributed red ribbons to students, staff, and faculty, and tied red ribbons around the trees in front of the building to create a visual message that spoke out against drug abuse. The Grim Reaper event used reality to portray the dangers of alcohol abuse and reckless actions in an interactive way. A skeleton-masked Grim Reaper dressed in a black robe entered classrooms and pointed to its next victim, removing him or her from the group and claiming his or her life. To represent their death, the chosen students were labeled with three black tears running down their face and were forbidden to speak for the rest of the day, signifying their lost voice. Hanging around the neck of each claimed student was a quote that described his or her cause of death including, “I was killed in a knife fight” and “I was hit by a drunk driver.” At the end of the day, the Grim Reaper collected all its victims and students were able to view the potential lives lost as a result of destructive decisions, a powerful visual aimed at impacting the way students think and the choices they make.

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