THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610100148
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOUG BEIZER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 81 lines
Dressed in futuristic glowing vests, Team Yellow eased out of its home base. The teen warriors were cautious, their weapons were drawn and they were on the defensive.
But the strategy proved ineffective. Suddenly, there was a barrage of laser fire from Team Green, and Team Yellow vests lighted up, signaling multiple hits. Everybody laughed and scurried off to find another encounter.
After all, it's just a game and these players had earned a good time.
The participants in the laser-tag tournament at Ultrazone near Lynnhaven were all cadets from Commonwealth Challenge, a military style school for high school dropouts. The outing was set up as an incentive for the students to pass their Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) class.
The D.A.R.E. program lasts for two weeks during the cadets' five-month session at Commonwealth Challenge, where, under a regimented stay, the cadets are prepared for the General Education Development (GED) test.
Since students aren't required to pass the D.A.R.E. course, instructor Ken Smith, a Virginia Beach police officer, decided to come up with a prize for paying attention in class.
``This is the first time I've had an incentive for them,'' said Smith, who has taught at Commonwealth Challenge for two years. ``It worked. I had all but two of them pass D.A.R.E., and the differences just in their final exams from their pretests were just amazing.''
Setting up the evening turned out to be easier then Smith expected.
``I asked Ultrazone's manager Mike Olivieri about bringing 65 cadets and he said, `Sure, bring them in,' '' Smith said.
Ultrazone opened for the cadets for about three hours, and each cadet got to play two 15-minute games.
``If we did just one game it would have only given them a little taste of it, and that wouldn't have been fair,'' said Noreen Ereio, an assistant manager and special events coordinator for Ultrazone. ``Ultrazone has a lot of community involvement. This wasn't anything that is not on our normal agenda.''
Smith also convinced Chanello's to donate 16 pizzas and Virginia Trophy to provide three trophies for the top performers.
For Cadet Sean Diaz, 17, the promise of an Ultrazone outing was inspiring. ``That's why I did all the work,'' he said. ``I didn't do any of the work until I found out we were coming here. It's awesome; I like it.''
Diaz even discovered that he identified with the role-playing sessions during a D.A.R.E. class that dealt with peer pressure to drink alcohol or take illegal drugs. Fellow cadet Ernest Fisher, 17, agreed that the role playing was helpful - and that the promise of laser tag made him study harder.
``I wanted to be here so that kind of forced me to do better so I could pass the test and pass the class,'' he said.
Cadet Shamina Lipscombe, 17, said she would have worked hard in D.A.R.E. class without the Ultrazone trip. But it didn't hurt.
``This is the first time I ever heard of this,'' she said. ``It sounded exciting so I was eager to come here. I couldn't wait.''
Toni Washington, an employee with Commonwealth Challenge, said the teamwork skills needed to win at laser tag are similar to what is taught in school. Commonwealth Challenge, based at Camp Pendleton, is a voluntary, coed program. Started in September 1994, it is funded by the U.S. Defense Department and run by the Virginia National Guard.
The games were a reprieve from the budget troubles the school faces. The program has already undergone budget cuts and it is in danger of being cut further. A $2,200 stipend the students used to receive after successful completion of the program has been reduced to $500. More budget cuts are possible.
As long as Commonwealth Challenge is around, Smith said, he plans to continue the D.A.R.E. program there.
``I start out by telling them that I'm proud of what they are doing,'' he said. ``I think what they are doing is great, and I'd rather be a cheerleader for them than anything else. And this program just helps them to make those decisions a little bit better. They realize that they have to do things for themselves instead of doing what other people want them to do.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by DOUG BEIZER
ABOVE: Khai Humphrey, 17, left, Gary Kelley, 18, and Audwin Jones,
18, got a free evening of laser tag by successfully completing the
D.A.R.E. program.
LEFT: Officer Ken Smith discusses scores midway through the
evening's play. by CNB