The club might be named SADD, but don’t let that cause any confusion, Students Against Destructive Decisions is all about positive decisions.
“It is really important to make the right decision no matter how hard it is or what the people around you are doing,” said SADD member Haley Peterson, senior.
This club is led by English Teacher Ryan Buck, who has advised this group for several years.
“It was an opportunity to make a difference and try to encourage students to make good decisions in some new and creative ways,” said Buck.
SADD is open to anyone who wants to join, and like any other club, it’s always looking for more members — if interested, contact Buck for specific meeting dates and times. Meetings take place at least two or three times a month on Tuesday mornings in Buck’s room.
“Mr. Buck normally has some kind of game plan, but most of it is brainstorming. We come up with ideas, and he supplies us with the means to make it happen,” said Senior Dylan Horswell.
SADD is beneficial to the student body because not only is it relevant to students, it is run by students.
“We try to promote awareness about drug abuse, drinking and safety,” said Peterson. “We promote lots of positive decision making.”
Horswell joined the club because, besides liking Buck as a teacher, he agreed with Peterson and felt the club was working toward a good cause.
Recently the group led the Toys for Tots present drive for kids in need before winter break, but SADD does many projects throughout the year with the intention of making a difference.
“We think of anything we can do to promote awareness for drug abuse, like handing out lollipops in the front of the school, or one time we put a bunch of post-it notes on people’s lockers that said, ‘We care about you’ and stuff like that,” said Horswell.
And that’s what SADD is all about: a simple thing to start your day off on a positive note.
“We can’t be our best selves all the time; we’re going to stumble and fall, and it might be easy to go along with the crowd, but when we focus on the good and the positive, it’s easier to live the life that we want and to avoid certain things that might destroy our lives,” said Buck. “We’ve tried to be about positive decisions and not just focusing on the negative, but promoting the good.”