A statue honoring the memory of Shelley Goldsmith, a late University student, was erected in the Elson Student Health Center Monday as part of its Safe Spring Break week. The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team plans to educate young people about the dangers of drug use through the untimely death of Goldsmith, who passed away in August 2013 after using a type of ecstasy known as “molly.”
AJ Levy, a second-year College student, is closely involved with the project as an ADAPT intern. In an email to The Cavalier Daily, Levy said the sculpture, named the Shooting Star statue, will include a photo and dedication to Goldsmith.
“The Shooting Star statue is gray and star-shaped, filled with holes,” Levy said. “This week, there will be many paper stars attached to it with the names of people who have been directly or indirectly affected by drug use. The plaque, which hangs above it, has a picture of Shelley and a short note dedicating the statue to her.”
Additionally, Levy said his involvement in planning the project changed his broader outlook on issues such as drug abuse.
“I see my job, as a member of ADAPT and as a peer educator, as educating my peers and my community on how to make the best choices regarding alcohol and illicit drugs, and to educate people on the risks they are taking when using illicit drugs,” Levy said. “I believe that more widespread, fact-based education is the best tool we have in reducing substance abuse and deaths related to it.”
In a phone interview, Dede Goldsmith, the mother of Shelley Goldsmith, said the memorial shows how students are able to learn from painful experiences.
“What I’m so excited about with the dedication of the Shooting Star Memorial is that it’s a testament to the work that can be done by students, for students, when they’re impacted in such a tragic way — like so many of them were who knew Shelley when she passed away during her second year,” Goldsmith said.
Dede Goldsmith, who has become involved with various initiatives prioritizing drug safety education, said a key component to ensuring the success of reducing drug-related injuries and deaths is differentiating between drug experimentation and drug abuse when educating people.
“Once you identify all of these things under substance abuse, you’ve already kind of shut the door on people who are trying the drug once or twice,” Goldsmith said. “You’re not going to capture their attention by classifying it as drug abuse, because they don’t see themselves as abusing anything. That’s not abuse in most people’s minds — and I’ll be frank, I don’t think it is either.”
Goldsmith also said her daughter will be remembered for her selflessness.
“She was the star of her community. There were over a thousand people at her funeral. Shelley was totally a social butterfly in so many ways,” she said. “She meant so much to so many people, and she was such a good friend. She never thought twice about putting the needs of others over hers.”
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