Proclamation 6335—National D.A.R.E. Day, 1991

The most important priority of our National Drug Control Strategy is to reduce drug use by our Nation's citizens, especially our young people. A key aim of AMERICA 2000, our national strategy for achieving excellence in American education, is to ensure that every school in the United States is free of drugs and violence. Realizing these goals will require the creative energy and the commitment of many different people in every community. Parents, educators, law enforcement officials, and students, as well as business and civic leaders, must work together to rid our Nation of drugs and to build schools and neighborhoods where individuals can learn.

Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or Project D.A.R.E., provides an outstanding example of how such cooperation works. Taught by veteran law enforcement personnel, the D.A.R.E. program is designed to prevent the use of drugs and alcohol among students. It teaches young people to resist pressure to use drugs and encourages wholesome alternatives to drug use. Initiated in 1983, D.A.R.E. is one of many constructive, school-community partnerships that have been implemented in all 50 States and in several foreign countries.

In recognition of D.A.R.E.'s contribution in forging strong bonds between schools and communities -- bonds that are essential to achieving our National Education Goals -- the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 121, has designated September 12, 1991, as "National D.A.R.E. Day."

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 12, 1991, as National D.A.R.E. Day. I encourage all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

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

GEORGE BUSH