Prom season is here, and accompanying it is the annual Drug and Alcohol Assembly that will take place April 22.

“Historically, whenever there have been issues, particularly regarding alcohol use by students it’s been toward the end of the school year around Prom time,” Principal Noreen Likins said. “That’s the time when people think about celebrating and will often cross that line between celebrating safely and moving into behaviors that are risky.”

This year, the assembly will incorporate direct student participation with the use of electronic handheld devices and will be different from previous drug and alcohol assemblies, according to junior Drug and Alcohol Committee member Ahmad Fayad. “We want to change it up,” Fayad said. Nonetheless, the assembly will still have a panel of guest speakers.

According to Fayad, the purpose of the assembly is to get data from students and give them a reality check about the actual substance use among the student body. Students will be able to voice their opinions and a panel will answer student-generated questions.

One of the reasons for the assembly is because “drugs and alcohol are substances that can cause major issues, even if they do not result in death or injury,” Likins said. “Arrest due to drug use or possession of drugs can negatively impact the school and impact college admissions.”

According to Likins, the idea of the assembly is to raise awareness and try to caution students about dabbling in the dangers of drugs and alcohol. “One of the problems, always, in trying to get the students aware is that it can come across as telling people what to do,” Likins said. “And most people do not respond very well in those situations.

The school is trying to incorporate more student involvement during assemblies, as with the February stress assembly held in classrooms, according to Likins.

The stress assembly was held in each individual classroom, while the Drug and Alcohol assembly will be held in Spangenberg. “We are really ambitious in doing it on this scale at Spangenberg, where we have a thousand people involved,” Likins said. “But we think we have a plan that will work.”

According to Likins, the assembly will have interesting surprises. “We constantly have to reinvent ourselves at school,” Likins said.

In addition to the assembly, new drug and alcohol posters will be posted around campus. “The assembly may complete the poster campaign,” Fayad said.