MADRID -- Students who participated in Clarkson's Building Rural Aspirations in Neuroscience with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (BRAIN-STEM) Program, recently teamed up with Reality Check to host “Chalk the Walk” outside of Madrid-Waddington Central School. 

The students created artwork in chalk illustrating tobacco stats and quotes to raise awareness about World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), which was May 30. 

This year's theme for World No Tobacco Day, which is May 31 is "Unmasking the appeal: Exposing industry tactics on tobacco and nicotine products." The campaign aims to reveal the strategies employed by the tobacco and nicotine industries to make their harmful products enticing, particularly to young people.

"Working together with Madrid-Waddington Central School and the BrainSTEM students really brought this idea to life,” said Reality Check Coordinator Travis Jordan. “The youth were able to show their creativity and artistic skills in a fun, and unique way. We wanted a way to show that the tobacco industry isn't worried about your health, and to really expose the strategies that make their products more enticing for young people, especially vapes. I was very impressed with the work these students completed, they have a very bright future ahead of them."

BRAIN-STEM, an afterschool and summer program, was an immersive experience for the students where they engaged in hands-on activities related to drug addiction and treatment, healthcare professions, and related STEM topics. During their time in BRAIN-STEM, the students learned about the neuroscience of addiction and then problem-solved patient treatment plans through the lens of practitioners.

BRAIN-STEM is a Science Education Partnership Award granted to Clarkson’s Institute for STEM Education and Lewis School of Health Sciences. This $1.5 million, five-year program is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the intent to spark interest in health care professions.