Block D Club raises the level of accountability

When Douglas High teacher Ernie Monfiletto resurrected the Block D Letterman's Club 10 years ago, it was with the intent of improving the image of student-athletes in the community.

After a number of incidents involving drug use cropped among Douglas athletes this year, the club found itself having to fulfill its originally-intended role to the utmost.

The 70-member club recently voted unanimously to support random drug testing at the school. To put its money literally where its mouth is, the club also made pursuing and funding such testing one of its focuses through the end of the school year.

"A lot of times in the past, it's been a few people kind of ruining it and labeling the whole team when really it is a very small group of people involved," Block D president, and senior athlete Ally Freitas said. "After what was going on earlier in the year, we woke up and started going on this.

"In Block D, you sign a contract saying you won't take part in any drugs or alcohol. This will reinforce that."

Indeed, anyone playing any sport or extracurricular activity like band or speech and debate at the school is required to sign on off the school's conduct contract. Testing, in a sense, would give that document some teeth.

The Douglas County School District Board of Trustees approved last month the development of a drug testing policy to be implemented in the fall for 900 or so students at the school who participate in extracurricular activities.

"Some people out there in the community might be against testing, but playing sports in high school is not a right, it's a privilege," said junior soccer player Edgar Arceo, one of two current Block D officers who will fall under testing next year. "You have to stay true to what you signed."

Officers in the club said drug use at the high school is widespread, even among the athletes. They said marijuana and alcohol are far more popular than what else is out there, but they still know of students involved in other drugs.

Monfiletto said the district is looking at a number of tests, but whatever is selected will at least test for alcohol and marijuana, along with ecstasy, due to its recent rise in Douglas County.

"It's going to test for five illicit drugs, but we are going to pay extra for ecstasy because of the issues this community has dealt with," he said.

The club officers said the testing will serve two major purposes, one in restoring the image of athletes in the community and the other in alleviating some of the pressure high school students face when they're out with friends.

"Hopefully this will let people know that drugs aren't acceptable," Block D senior representative Mackenzie Cauley said.

Joe Ramos, a senior football player, agreed.

"It could be that you're at a party and there'll be extra pressure to not do any drugs because you know that you could be tested the next week," Ramos said. "It could definitely be a factor."

Ramos said Monfiletto first broached the idea with the club when McQueen High School enacted a drug testing program last fall.

"They did surveys up there and the players were saying it was easier to say no because they might be tested that week," Ramos said.

"Some students that drink or do drugs, but they don't necessarily want to do it, they do it to fit in," Arceo said. "If you have a built-in reason to say no, the pressure is kind of off of you."

"We're hoping it'll decrease some of the drug usage simply because people don't want to get kicked off the team," senior cross country and track athlete Taylor Biaggi said.

The officers in the club also agreed that they have heard of many cases where a parent has caught their child in violation of the school's contract, but hasn't turned them in.

"This will also alleviate some of the pressure for parents who have trouble making the hard decisions and disciplining their kids," Monfiletto said. "We've talked a lot about it, and it is a rarity that a parent will turn their own kid in."

That the club's vote was unanimous came as little surprise to the officers.

"No one is going to sit there and say this is a bad idea, we shouldn't do it," Freitas said. "But now if they were using drugs before, they are going to have to start playing by what they are saying."

Monfiletto said the effort toward testing fits in with a majority of the club's pillar goals, particularly in dispelling bad images brought up by the recent events.

"We established this group to get out there and have a positive effect on the community," he said. "People tend to focus on the negative, but the student-athletes in this club put a lot of effort toward making sure they are productive citizens.

"That's why we do things like the turkey drive at Thanksgiving and reading to elementary school kids and painting the D on the hill. We want the athletes at this high school to be role models."