Coppell High School students and teachers looked like they were on vacation in Hawaii today. In honor of Red Ribbon Week, the campus celebrated “Hawaiian Wednesday” to encourage students to “lei drugs to rest”.

Though school-wide participation in the Red Ribbon Week dress up days, coordinated by the CHS SADD club, is sparse, some students and faculty wore Hawaiian garb including flower shirts and leis.

Junior Oscar Duarte donned a blue Hawaiian flower print shirt as well as flower print shorts, flint arrowhead necklace and flip flops.

“I am dressed up because I gotta have some school spirit,” Duarte said. “It shows that you are interested in how you care about yourself. It’s like a way of saying, ‘Hey, I’m not going to do drugs because it’s not cool.’”

The dress up days have come to be known as a way to show school spirit. Additionally, some students see them as enjoyable ways to educate teens about the negative effects of drug use.

“It’s a fun way to promote to not do drugs,” freshman Katy Hinkle said. “It’s more engaging than lectures so more people [are] interested.”

Despite the festivity of these students and teachers who sported Hawaiian clothes, some choose to participate in Red Ribbon Week dress up days for reasons besides promoting drug-free lifestyles.

“Some people just do it because it’s fun, they don’t really think about what it’s for,” junior Mary O’Connor said.

The week will conclude with “Thrifty Thursday” and “Cowboy Friday” where students and teacher will come dressed in their favorite thrift store clothes and cowboy gear.