Putting the Power in students’ hands: North group focused on curbing trend of alcohol, drug abuse

Adam Huening

Tue, May 13 2008

— Whether it’s called getting drunk, smashed, crunked, hammered or “shmammered,” some North Decatur Jr./Sr. High School students sum it up with two words: Bad decision.
That was the message being spread by the Power of One, a newly formed group of students trying to help their classmates stay away from underage drinking and drugs.
This week, a school year’s worth of work culminated in the group’s first school-wide convocation. North principal Gary Cook said the 40-minute program was not produced or even thought of by the school. The students did everything themselves.
The idea, he said, was born last year. North selected four students - current sophomores Zack Dwenger and Megan Riedeman and current freshmen Tara Lecher and Nick Gauck - to attend a weekend conference sponsored in part by the Community Action Coalition.
It was at this conference, Cook said, when the students first planned to organize.
Dwenger said the different styles of the speakers at the conference gave them the idea of how to spread their message.
“They didn’t just preach to you,” he said. “It really turned our heads around.”
Dwenger said with the absence of a SADD group at the school, they devised the Power of One to act in its place. Cook noted the students, with the help of the CAC’s Tanya Smith, set up everything. They organized, made flyers and T-shirts and even wrote a grant for funding.
They recruited four more students: seniors Tanner Derflinger and Meredith Tarplee and juniors Kendra Fausbinder and Andy Seter. Smith said while she helped facilitate the group, it was really the students who have done the work.
“I’ve worked with a lot kids, and there are some really good groups. These kids are phenomenal,” Smith said. “They really care about North. I’m extremely proud of them. They have far exceeded any of my expectations.”
The work culminated with the first convocation three days before Spring Break.
This also, Cook said, was their idea.
“They set up the entire program and picked the week before Spring Break,” Cook said. “Hopefully, it planted the seeds.”
Smith assisted the students with recruiting speakers.
The students brought Chip Ayers of the Indiana State Police’s Clandestine Meth Suppression Unit to discuss the dangers of drugs and Deb Cruser, an independent court councilor specializing in substance abuse, to speak about the effects of underage drinking.
Both were recruited, Dwenger said, because their presentations are not the typical adults-talking-down-to-kids approach. Instead, Ayers informed the students about the horrors of meth through personal stories from his job while Cruser approached the issue through an interactive presentation.
Cook felt the message came across loud and clear in a way students could respond to, especially since their fellow classmates were the ones presenting the program.
Smith said the problem with underage drinking in the county is higher than the state or national average, and the North students seemed committed to curbing that trend.
“We need to figure out a way to have a direct impact on these kids, and it starts here in the schools. I am absolutely confident North is in good hands,” she said.
Smith added the group is not ready to stop with one convocation. They are already planning a possible golf outing to raise funds and awareness as well as other projects.
“They have so many ideas to sustain this,” Smith said. “They’ve told me they’d like to see this spread like a cold through the school.”
With these students at the helm, both Cook and Smith agreed the bug is likely to spread rapidly throughout the student body and hopefully lead them to better decision making and a brighter, sober future.

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