Description:
The title, ‘Down for Life’ is the culmination of year long anti-tobacco campaign headed by Poudre School District Prevention Specialist, April Stutters that is funded by a grant. Down for Life started as a mystery campaign in PSD junior high schools last January. Students found promotional materials all over school with the message “Down” on them. “Down” is slang for support, i.e. saying “I’m down” generally means “Count me in” or (ironically) “I’m up for the challenge.” Then certain students with a “cool” reputation started showing up at school wearing hooded sweatshirts with the “Down” message on them. As students searched for the answer to the mystery campaign, “Down” became cool, trendy and something that the students wanted to be a part of. Eventually it was revealed that “Down” was part of an anti-tobacco campaign urging students to be “Down” (tobacco free) for life, making that commitment a cool thing to do.
DJ Zackery Klassen and Lincoln JHS student Jame share their experiences when a Hip Hop Saturday night event added a fun element to the campaign. This offered fun, hip tobacco and alcohol-free Saturday night alternative for junior high students in Fort Collins. |
