Sadd Chapter Archives - Stafford Technical Center

Stafford SADD Members Underwrite Christ the King DARE Program Expenses

The Stafford Technical Center SADD Chapter was advised by Bill Lucci, a parent of a Christ the King student and Assistant Director-Adult Technical Education at Stafford Technical Center that the Christ the King DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Program at Christ the King School was in need of funds to pay for the expenses for running the program. The Rutland City Police Department has agreed to provide the services of the DARE Instructor, Officer Keith Lorman, who has undergone specific training to provide the DARE core curriculum to fifth or sixth graders. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts and a generally poor economic environment, the funds pay for the program’s expenses were not there. Mr. Lucci told the SADD members about the plight of Mrs. Barbagallo’s fifth grade class, and they unanimously voted to donate the funds ($200) to run the programs.

SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) is a peer leadership program designed to make students role models of responsible behaviors and to act to reduce negative behaviors, such as drug usage. The students saw the opportunities to help the younger students in this case as a perfect example of the type of positive activities that they should be promoting. Normally, the SADD Chapter never has any additional funds, but the chapter just won $1200 as national finalists in a contest involving distracted driving that was run through ActOutLoud.org. The SADD members have chosen to deal with the issue of eating while driving in this contest and their project will be promoted on that site and there will be voting through that site from May 10-21, for the winners, who will get $10,000.

The Stafford Technical Center SADD Chapter is made up of Mill River Union High School students Kayla Jones, Nate Hance, James Reed, Cantlin Eaton, Cierra Phelps, Erika Stocker, and Haley Cotrupi, Rutland High School students Ashley Barnes, Chris Crout, Jamie Bonilla and Jordan Grenier, West Rutland High School student Kayla Stewart, Proctor High School student Kyle Lenher, and Otter Valley Union High School students Joanna Lilly and Geoffry McDonald.

Students Present on “Sexting”

Jo Lilly Presentation

Picture: Jo Lilly, Stafford Public Safety Services Student presents on “sexting”

Seven students from Stafford Technical Center’s SADD Chapter, all of whom are involved in the Public Safety Services Program, recently presented a workshop of the topic of “Sexting” to about 50 teens and adults at the Governor’s Youth Leadership Conference in Burlington. The students were Kayla Stewart, a junior from West Rutland High School, Geoffrey McDonald, a senior from Otter Valley Union High School, Cierra Phelps, a junior at Mill River Union High School, Erika Stocker, Kayla Jones, and Nate Hance, seniors at Mill River Union High School, Jo Lilly, a senior at Poultney High School, and Ashley Barnes, a senior at Rutland High School.

Sexting is a relatively new phenomenon which involves sending sexually explicit or provocative messages, cartoons, or photos of naked or seminude people by cell phone or computer. Sexting is much more common than people think, especially more common than the parents of teens think. About half of all teens report having been “sexted”, and about thirty percent of all teens report that they have sent sexting messages. The percentage of males involved in sending seems to be roughly twice that of the rates of females. Of the girls who sent photos of themselves, about half reported that they were pressured by their boyfriends to do so. Interestingly enough, about one of six boyfriends whose girlfriends sent nude photos of themselves mass e-mail the photos to others following a breakup of the relationship. It is presumed that this happens more often following the girlfriend dumping the boyfriend than the other way around.

Sexting can be a form of bullying, also. In a case from Japan, an obese male middle school student was humiliated after a fellow student took naked pictures of the obese student in the shower during gym class, without the student’s knowledge, and then sent the photos out to a large number of schoolmates. In a case from Ohio, a girl committed suicide after months of harassment from fellow students who had been sent naked photos of the girl by her ex-boyfriend after they broke up.

Sexting can also result in a number of criminal charges being brought against the sender or receiver of the photos, particularly if one of them is a minor. The charges may include pornography or child pornography or a host of other charges. A number of these charges may result in one’s becoming a registered sex offender, also; there are cases where 18 year olds with photos from their sixteen year old girlfriends have become required to register as sex offenders.

Hopefully, by raising awareness of teens in Vermont of the dangers in sexting, fewer teens will become victims.

Department of Motor Vehicles and High School Students Team Up to Address Speeding

Recently, students from Proctor High School and Stafford Technical Center’s Vermont Teen Leadership Program, and Rutland High School’s Green Mountain Teen Institute Program linked up with the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles to heighten awareness of the dangers in speeding. The partners came together at the Rutland DMV Office, where they placed a couple of hundred “Slow Down, Stick Around” ribbons and attached information cards for DMV patrons to take. The ribbons can be used as bookmarks and are there to reinforce the message every time someone looks at the ribbon.

The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles is so committed to this effort that they have offered SADD chapters in areas of the state where there are DMV offices the opportunity to replicate this partnership locally. DMV was well represented at the kick-off of this program, with new Commissioner Robert Ide being joined by Sgt. Joseph Arduca and Inspector Adam Pockette as well as Rutland DMV District Office Supervisor Robin Delong. Cameo Bixby-Clements, a Rutland High student represented GMTI. Proctor High School’s SADD Chapter was represented by student Amanda Zuber and advisor Claire Molner. The Stafford Technical Center SADD team consisted of student Kayla Stewart of West Rutland and advisor John D’Esposito. Troopers Mark Perkins and Rene Klementowski of the Vermont State Police and Rutland County Sheriff Stephen Benard represented the law enforcement community.

Rutland County’s partnership between law enforcement, youth, and the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles represents another locally developed concept to solve a problem which will be replicated through Vermont, and perhaps through the nation

Teens Do Traffic Survey

Students from Stafford Technical Center’s SADD Chapter and Rutland High School’s GMTI Program recently did a traffic safety survey at the entrance to the schools in the morning for about two and a half hours. The students, Christopher Crout, a senior at Stafford Technical Center from Rutland High School, Nate Hance, a senior at Stafford Technical Center from Mill River Union High School, Jackie Fitz-Gerald, a senior at Stafford Technical Center from Chittenden, Kayla Stewart, a Stafford Technical Center junior from West Rutland HS, and Joey Trevino, a freshman member of Rutland High School’s GMTI program, looked at 558 vehicles that morning. Overall, 87.1% of the operators or occupants were observed wearing their safety belts. There were, however significant differences among the sexes and depending where the person was seated in the level of compliance.

The students had decided also to monitor operators to see if they were “distracted driving”, as there has been a lot of research that says how dangerous this practice is. For example, texting while driving is supposed to be 2.5 times as dangerous as driving drunk. The students were amazed to find a driver who was eating a bowl of ramen noodles while driving, and another who had a bowl of cereal that she was eating. The students also observed at least 25 more drivers who were either speaking on the cell phone, texting while driving, or eating or drinking while driving. The real numbers would be higher, as some people apparently hid their phones or food when they saw the reflective vests the students were wearing. The students were appalled at the speeds that some people came flying into the schools with.

stbeltsurvey The drivers were the most responsible group as far as wearing safety belts was concerned, with an overall compliance rate of 92%. Men were properly restrained in 83.2% of those surveyed, and with 89% of male operators belted. Women had a better overall rate of 89.5% in compliance, but an even better 94.9% rate of female operators. Front seat passengers also showed the same higher rate of compliance among women than men, with an 87.5% to 83.6% advantage to females. Men did show an advantage over females in the rear seat category; both had horrible rates of compliance, but the females were worse, with only a 45% rate of compliance; the male rate was a 63.3% compliance rate. One of the reasons that the rear seats had such bad compliance rates was that there were a few vans with up to 5 unrestrained passengers in the two back seats.

The spring safety belt survey will focus again on distracted drivers and encouraging increasing safety belt usage among teens.

Pictured in photo are two students from Public Safety Services: Foreground: Nate Hance (Mill River Union High School and Chris Crout (RHS)