A new movement has started at Riverview High School, impacting many of the students. It is the D-FY movement or “Drug Free Youth,” and it is gaining popularity among the student body. Although D-FY has been in the community area since 2014, it has started now at Riverview to help students achieve their full potential and provide them with guidance.

Markee Teal is an advocate for the D-FY movement at Riverview. The main purpose of it is, he explains, to reward drug-free behaviors.

“The main objective is for us to be able to recognize the students who have made the decision to be drug- and alcohol-free and reward them as they continue to make positive decisions,” he said.

Students can get involved with little to no work at all. According to Teal, all students have to do is be in school, be of ages 13-18, and complete a membership application during sign-up events. An added bonus is that the process to get involved is completely free. To validate this commitment to being drug- and alcohol-free, applicants go through a confidential drug screening. Then once students are members, to ensure they are keeping their commitment to be drug and alcohol free, they are subject to random screenings.

Being part of D-FY has many benefits for students as well. If students keep their promise to be drug-free and alcohol-free, they are rewarded in many ways.

“Members are eligible to receive local discounts and attend special D-FY events. There may also be opportunities to receive volunteer hours, graduation cords, hiring preference and internships,” Teal said.

There are many impacts on the community that D-FY provides. D-FY is helping all kinds of students from middle school to high school age understand ways to avoid peer pressure, say no, and in some extreme cases, get rid of their drug and alcohol problems. This movement has already had a lot of positive impacts at Riverview, according to Teal.

Although this is Teal’s first year being a part of this organization, he has high hopes for its future at RHS and throughout the community.

“The ultimate goal for D-FY here at Riverview is that we get all students here on our campus to make the public pledge to be drug- and alcohol-free. After the elimination of drugs in schools, then learning can happen on a much larger scale. As a county, we can all move forward and be very progressive in our community,” he said.

There are plenty of opportunities for students to sign up to be a part of this organization. Being a drug-free student clearly has many benefits.