3/27/2008 9:39:00 AM Shoes leave impressions of lives lost from tobacco
Linda Wuebben/Correspondent Megan Miller, a sophomore at Crofton High School, checks out the 1,200 shoes lined on the gym seats. The number represents the deaths every day from tobacco products.
CROFTON - If the Crofton High School student body had been reading the "Stall Street News" these past few days, they would have been able to answer questions and get prizes at Wednesday's assembly.
Just where one would find the Stall Street News was a thought-provoking question.
And the answer was obvious - in the bathroom stalls.
The newly organized "No Limits" tobacco group in Crofton called Warriors Against Tobacco planned two assemblies during the students' homerooms Wednesday.
During the week, teasers were placed around school using the number 1,200.
It spiked the students' curiosity and created drama before the big event.
During the assembly, the students found out the number 1,200 stands for the number of deaths that occur every day from tobacco products.
There were 1,200 shoes placed on the bleachers in the gym to catch everyone's eye and make a lasting impression. Also, posters with the same number were strategically placed around the school, trivia about tobacco products included in the daily announcements and finally, the "Stall Street News" placed in the bathroom stalls.
"I don't want to see my friends use tobacco products in school or anywhere," said group member Megan Miller.
"The philosophy of this group works more for educating the public and young users about tobacco products," said Todd Strom, Crofton principal. "It is a way to work against the large tobacco companies."
School nurse Jackie Freeman came up with the original proposal. She found some of the information out from the public health department in O'Neill. Eleven students signed up last year to attend a summit session in Halsey. Other area groups organized in O'Neill, Ewing and Elgin.
"This group really got started last September," Freeman said. "We hope the presentation we did this week will get more kids interested."
She said the members do not have to be tobacco-free to join but are encouraged to overcome the habit if they do.
Six students - Lacey Wendte, Amanda Janssen, Sara Kohles, Cecily Schieffer, Brianna Chase and Miller - started the assembly by asking questions about trivia the students had heard in the announcements or read in the bathroom stalls, including:
* Every 72 seconds there is a tobacco-related death.
* Of the 10 million tobacco users around the world, 3 million are under the age of 21.
* About 90 percent of tobacco users begin in their teenage years.
* There are 28 cancer-causing agents in cigarettes.
The DVD the students viewed next may have had an impact. It was a hard-core, fast paced 20-minute slice of life of two teenagers who were tobacco users produced in a manner appealing to teenagers.
The 19-year-old female smoker was an actress who was hired to play the roll of aging women who have smoked all their lives. She visited with real patients to get a feel for the part. The last patient she was to listen to was her mom.
The 18-year-old "can-a-day-dipper" thought he was headed for his fantasy. He was chosen, along with 40 or so other young men to play in an exhibition game where pro baseball scouts would be present.
As he was pitching, he was thrown out of the game for using smokeless tobacco on the field. He then met a teenage who had the same dream but was disfigured because of his "dipping" habit.
The Crofton group received funding for the purchase of the DVD and displays from Tobacco-Free Nebraska. A mini-grant from the No Limits organization allowed them to purchase buttons and prizes to hand out at the assembly.
The tobacco-free students have already decided to hang the Stall Street News in bathrooms around town to make more people aware - and change more minds.
