On October 15th the gymnasium was full of anxious students looking to compete for cash prizes at the Drug and Alcohol Awareness Intensity Gameshow. Orlando Esrada, also known as Orlo Azul, has been doing this game show for 4 school years. The purpose of the gameshow is to inform students about drugs, alcohol, and even some pop culture all while having a great time.
This fast-paced event started out with students filing inside of the gym, taking a remote to allow them the chance to submit their answers for questions that would show up on a screen. There were several rounds of questions appearing and at the end a winner was tallied up from the overall people that answered. The one with the most right answers was then called to the front of the stage by Esrada, in which the winners of each round were given twenty dollars. At one point during the game, Esrada simply asked who in the audience would like fifteen dollars, and began handing the bills out.
The screen flashed a lot of questions that dealt heavily on common drugs. One question asked what another name for PCP was, quickly followed by four choices with the right answer of “Angel Dust” being an option.
After each round of questions there was a mini game held that earned the player some quick cash. These mini games included knocking plastic bottles off a table using only the air hissing out of a balloon, something along the lines of Are You Smarter than A 5th Grader, and even following Esrada around the room as he asked for a specific object that the contestants might have on hand.
Nate Woodland, one of the students attending the gameshow, was asked if he thought this event was beneficial:
“I think so if you’re trying to learn more about it or just trying to raise awareness. You know somebody who is struggling financially and I think this can help, especially for college students to become financially stable.”
Drug and alcohol awareness is important because it gives people the option to know what is being put inside of their bodies and what the outcome will be for the long-run.