South Haven News

By Trista Metzinger

On Monday and Wednesday in the final week of October 2025, FCCLA, led by Cindy Blunk, hosted a Red Ribbon event in the South Haven’s south gym where junior high and high school students got to wear visually impaired goggles, among other activities, to show how drinking affects your vision and your walking.

The event had three stations for junior high and five for high school. Both had to write their names and trace words, walk in a straight line between two cones, and pass a volleyball, all while wearing impaired goggles. High school had the added activities of a Kahoot! based on drugs, drinking, and the school’s history, and a reaction station where students pressed a buzzer to answer questions.

One of the middle school attendees, Josie Metzinger, says the event, while being educational, was not accessible. “I enjoyed weaving in and out of the cones,” Metzinger said. “It was the only thing I could do.” 

No one at the event knew whether or not the goggles were latex, which Metzinger says could have possibly been solved by putting tissue between the goggles and her skin. She also requested some different activities, saying that she couldn’t participate in anything because of the concern about the goggles. Overall, Metzinger says it made it less fun for her and that she just spectated the whole thing. 

On the high school side, Hydie Goans and Jayden Woodfin said the event was fun. “It reinforced what I already knew about drugs and alcohol,” said Woodfin. Woodfin also said that her favorite activity was writing her name. Goans said hers was passing the volleyball, but says she wishes it was more accessible for Metzinger.

Overall, the Red Ribbon Week activity, while having good intentions, proved to be inaccessible for some. Despite this, kids seem to have learned a lot. Plenty of elementary kids, who are doing things such as “Chalk the Walk” understand the importance of not doing drugs or drinking.