More than 350 students from across the Austin School District completed their training Tuesday night by receiving the final piece of information in the fight to stay drug-free.

Wednesday, April 05, 2000

More than 350 students from across the Austin School District completed their training Tuesday night by receiving the final piece of information in the fight to stay drug-free.

The students also received a certificate of their accomplishment.

"They can’t say they don’t know anymore," said John Lorenz, the district’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer. "They know a lot of stuff; they know that positive things happen when you’re drug-free."

The DARE program held its graduation before a packed audience in Austin High School’s Knowlton Auditorium. The ceremony featured a slide show and the presentation of framed certificates to the children.

Yet the evening’s most telling moment came when the students, who just recently completed the program, gave their personal opinions to the audience of family, friends and special guests.

Some read letters to themselves or their parents, but all displayed the willingness to take a stand against using drugs.

"My parents told me not to do drugs," Lorenz read from a student letter. "Officer John told me why."

Lorenz did have some hard truths for those in attendance, particularly the fact that graduates are not immune from the choices and pressures they will face.

"We cannot rest on our laurels," he said. "When DARE started, they started preaching that it’s the ticket.

"The DARE program is not a one-time inoculation against drugs. Let’s face it, drugs are here in Austin."

Julie Nelson, mother of one of the graduates, said the program has helped to ease discussion of a difficult topic for parents to approach with their children. The information the students received in school helped to facilitate communication at home.

"She’d come home and talk about what they learned in class," Nelson said, describing her talks with daughter, Abbey Eckhoff. Eckhoff was joined by her friend, Lindsey Soshnik, after the ceremony.

Upon the ceremony’s end, Lorenz had one final piece of advice for the young grads, as he said, "Use what you’ve learned and make good decisions … I’ll be watching."