Whitehall-Coplay Communities That Care (CTC) held its February meeting at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Whitehall. Strategies for getting students in the school district involved in the prevention of drug and alcohol use were discussed.

Kristen Hackman, Lehigh County coordinator for Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), talked about two projects members and students are doing this year. The first took place on Super Bowl Sunday. Drug Free Action Alliance invited students to vote for their favorite commercials aired during Super Bowl 50.

The Super Bowl is known for its commercials as much as the game itself. CBS reportedly charged a record high of $5 million for each 30-second commercial.

“With that wide-viewing audience during the Super Bowl, about 18 percent will be youth under 21 who will be exposed to alcohol advertising in commercials, especially entertaining ones,” said Denise Continenza, extension educator, family and consumer sciences for Penn State Extension-Lehigh County as well as facilitator for CTC.

The commercial event was sponsored by Whitehall High School’s SADD, and a total of 211 high school students voted. The top six favorite commercials were as follows:

1. Doritos

2. T-Mobile

3. Pepsi

4. Heinz

5. Bud Light

6. Budweiser

The top five favorite commercials of high school students nationally were as follows:

1. Doritos

2. Mountain Dew

3. Heinz

4. Budweiser

5. T-Mobile

The SADD chapter is planning to discuss the impacts of advertising and the messages conveyed about alcohol use.

In other news, Nicole Sharkazy, Communities in Schools (CIS) coordinator for Whitehall-Coplay School District, reported the district received a $500 CIS grant to do a positive messaging project. The SADD chapter will take the lead with this and will base its messages on the PA Youth Survey 2015 data. Positive messaging lets the public know what is good about youth in Whitehall and strives to create positive social norms about substance use.

“Be on the lookout for posters, signs and other media that tells the community about what our young people are really doing and thinking,” Continenza said. “Engaging our young people in the battle against substance abuse is key, and they are in a position to have influence on their friends and peers in ways adults do not.”

Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners President Phillips Armstrong will be coordinating a student government day, where high school students shadow township leaders for a day and act in their role.

Armstrong also presented the criteria and process for recognizing youth in the community to the commissioners, and they were in agreement with this. Contineza will meet with Coplay Borough Mayor Dean Molitoris to discuss how to include nonpublic school students as well as Coplay residents.