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Proclamation 6588—National D.A.R.E. Day, 1993 and 1994

September 09, 1993


By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

America's young people face some daunting challenges. One of the most difficult decisions they have to make is whether or not to use drugs. The signals they receive in this country, where only 5 percent of the world's population consumes approximately 50 percent of the world's illegal drugs, often encourage them to gamble away their future on the false security of momentary escape.

In the knowledge-based world of today, their future, as well as the future of America, rests on education. The successes in Europe and Asia have taught us that the nation most equipped to compete in the 21st century will be the nation that can best educate its children. Our students must be properly prepared to enter school and encouraged to complete their studies. They must be taught responsibility for themselves and their community. They must be first in math and science, as well as in literacy and vocational skills. Perhaps most important, they must be given safe classrooms, where they are free to hope for a bright future and where they are not bound in fear to a dark present.

Our National Education Goals were formulated to give America's educators, parents, and students solid objectives in the field of education. Goal 6 of the National Education Goals demands that we develop safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools by the year 2000. My Goals 2000: Educate America Act provides the framework for our educators to reach all of these goals, but until we are successful at achieving Goal 6, we will be unable to implement any of our other education objectives.

Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), a program developed by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District to prevent drug use, now reaches 25 million students from Kindergarten to 12th grade in all 50 states. This program also touches youth in Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil, Hungary, and Department of Defense Dependent Schools worldwide.

Taught by veteran police officers, D.A.R.E. aims to prevent substance abuse among school-age children by providing accurate information about alcohol and drugs, by teaching decision-making skills, by educating students about the consequences of their actions, and by building self-esteem. Our students often need the influence and attention of these dedicated officers to combat the peer pressure they face every day on the streets.

In recognition of this anti-drug program's promotion of cooperation among law enforcement, schools, officials, students, and parents, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 99, has designated September 9, 1993, and April 21, 1994, as "National D.A.R.E. Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of these days.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 9, 1993, and April 21, 1994, as National D.A.R.E. Day. I call upon the people of the United States, government officials, educators, and volunteers to observe the day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighteenth.

Signature of William J. Clinton

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on September 10, and it was published in the Federal Register on September 13.

William J. Clinton, Proclamation 6588—National D.A.R.E. Day, 1993 and 1994 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/268943

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