Every 15 minutes someone dies from a drug or alcohol related incident. Wayne Hills’ Students Against Destructive Decisions club, also known as SADD, recently took part in the nationwide campaign to spread awareness of the tragedies that can occur as the result of alcohol and drug abuse.

The program, which originated in Canada, first began in the United States in Chico, California in 1995.

The club, led by Officer Mark Dubois, the school’s resource officer, Marina Cangialosi, teacher of English, and Donna King, the student assistance counselor, held two assemblies on Wednesday during 3rd and 8th periods for the student body. The assembly featured a guest speaker who spread her son’s story of heroin addiction and overdose. The assembly also highlighted an anonymous student’s personal story about her sister’s addiction, read by junior Katie Casamassina.  It concluded with a ceremony led by junior Sam Batavia to prove how addiction truly does affect everyone.

Senior and vice president of SADD, Karl Reidel, recognizes the importance of a club like SADD. “Seeing how our club has grown from 5 to 40 members is truly inspiring. It’s nice to know that there are so many students in our school willing to take the extra step in preventing awful things from happening in our school system,” he comments.

The club continued the “Every 15 Minutes” campaign Thursday by painting members’ faces white every 15 minutes of the school day to symbolize death through drug or alcohol-related substance, with the cause of death written on tags on the students’ shirts. The activity was certainly effective, leaving students and teachers feeling saddened and haunted by the plethora of drug-related deaths that take place every day.

SADD meets every Tuesday after school and welcomes new members to come and join their cause.