High School Students Attend State House Rally

They’re not politicians, but five Wilmington residents traveled to the State House and let their voices be heard.

On March 23, five members of the Students Against Destructive Decisions group traveled to Boston to take part in the 2011 Kick Butts Day designed to protect communities from the influence of the tobacco industry.

“The students felt truly empowered,” said Rebecca Martiniello, co-advisor for SADD. “None of them had ever participated in a political rally or spoken directly to government officials before, so it was an exciting and eye-opening experience.”

There are currently more than 60 active members of the high school SADD group and approximately 100 who participate in the middle school group.

At the rally, students joined about 250 peers from across the state, according to a press release about the event. After training, they marched to the State House with elected officials and attended an event with the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, John Auerbach, and several state officials.

Kick Butts Day was a part of The 84 Movement, which represents the 84 percent of youth that do not smoke.

According to Martiniello, the SADD mission is “To Provide students with the best prevention tools possible to deal with the issues of underage drinking, other drug use, impaired driving and other destructive decisions.”

Student mentoring is a key component to SADD as research shows that positive peer pressure has an influence on the decision students make.

The group next has a variety of events on the docket. On May 10, SADD hosts the annual Operation Safe Prom, which includes a mock crash to give students an idea what can happen if they drive under the influence.

On May 15, the group will take part in the Run for Wilmington 5k Kim Forte Run, and the middle school students will also take part in a variety of events.

Martiniello said the highlight of the State House rally was chanting with the mass of students.

“The five students who attended the rally were incredibly enthusiastic,” said Martiniello. “(They) were surprised to see so many of their peers from across the state in attendance.”