East Side Intermediate celebrates Red Ribbon Week

Students clad in red gathered on the blacktop at East Side Intermediate School in Harrisburg, on Wednesday afternoon, to listen to the day's guest speaker; Tyler Hatton. Hatton, a WWE wrestler, and a personal trainer at Gold's Gym in Marion, came to speak to East Side students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, as a part of the school's Red Ribbon Week activities.

Hatton credited wrestling with keeping him away from drugs and alcohol. "Had I not said no to drugs throughout my life, I would not get to do any of this [wrestling]."

One of the points that Hatton touched on, was encouraging students to practice, "Strength in numbers."

"If somebody is trying to get you to drugs…if you see somebody being pressured, stand up for them," Hatton said. "You don't want to see your friend make a bad choice."

Red Ribbon Week is a national awareness campaign intended to educate the public, especially children and young adults, about the dangers of drug use, alcohol, and violence.

Red Ribbon Week was created after the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena by drug traffickers. Residents of Camarena's hometown donned red ribbons to promote drug prevention, which eventually led to the first National Red Ribbon Week in 1988.