A mysterious campaign to curb binge drinking is popping up around Manchester where high school students are celebrating homecoming this weekend.
The slogan is powerful, reading "Don’t be the one we’re talking about the next day."
The town agency behind the campaign, which was funded through a state grant, hopes it casts a unique perspective on the dangers of underage drinking.
"If you don’t partake in substances and underage drinking and things like that, your chances of being more successful in life are much higher," explained Sheridan Douglass of the Youth Service Bureau.
Manchester High School students spent Thursday afternoon driving the message home by putting up magnets on lockers around school ahead of Friday’s homecoming game.
"I hope they take this as a warning,” said senior Alexis Hammonds. “There are so many things that could happen and that they’ll just be safe."
"It’s early in the year, a lot of kids will show up," said junior Noah Acheampong. "Overall, just a busy weekend, big weekend, so a lot of kids will see it. They’ll hear the message."
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The Youth Service Bureau hopes the campaign encourages teenagers to stand up to the pressures of underage drinking.
"Not all the kids are drinking, so you don’t have to feel like you need to fit in with a group of kids that are doing something when they’re actually a really small pocket as opposed to the bigger picture," said Douglass.
Students said they hope the slogan resonates with their friends and classmates and stays with them.
"We kind of feel like we’re so young nothing bad can really happen to us and then our eyes get opened when something bad does happen because of drinking at such a young age and not being responsible," said Hammonds.
The campaign officially launches on Friday.
