National D.A.R.E. Day, 1998

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Part XI

The President

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Proclamation 7080--National D.A.R.E. Day, 1998

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7080 of April 9, 1998

National D.A.R.E. Day, 1998

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Every child is blessed with infinite potential--
potential for loving, for learning, and for making life
better for others. Yet each year thousands of young
people destroy this potential and risk their lives by
using illegal substances. That is why the first goal of
my 1998 National Drug Control Strategy is to educate
America's young people on the dangers of substance
abuse and to help them resist the temptations of drugs,
alcohol, and tobacco.

Among our greatest allies in this mission are the
parents, teachers, students, and police officers
participating in Drug Abuse Resistance Education
(D.A.R.E.), the largest substance abuse prevention and
safety promotion program in America. This year,
millions of children across the United States will
benefit from the D.A.R.E. curriculum. Under the
guidance of specially trained veteran police officers,
America's children from kindergarten through 12th grade
learn how to resist peer pressure and live productive
lives free from violence and substance abuse. The
D.A.R.E. program is currently being used in almost 75
percent of our Nation's school districts and in more
than 44 countries around the world. And because it is
so critical that we reach our young people during their
most impressionable years, D.A.R.E. has pledged to
expand into every middle school in our Nation by the
year 2001.

Every American should reinforce D.A.R.E.'s efforts by
accepting responsibility to join the fight against
drugs and violence. Parents must set a good example,
teach their children right from wrong, and educate them
about the dangers of substance abuse. Young people
themselves must have the courage to reject violence and
drugs. And we must all support our Nation's D.A.R.E.
officers in their mission to help our children reject
illegal drugs. It is only by working together that we
can create a brighter future for our children, our
communities, and our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim April 9, 1998, as National
D.A.R.E. Day. I call upon our youth, parents, and
educators and all people of the United States to
observe this day with appropriate programs and
activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-second.