At a time when drugs and alcohol have more or less taken over the lives of a majority of the minors in this country, a time when you can’t even go to a concert without smelling like you’ve been in a marijuana factory, someone has finally come to the rescue.

Someone has finally decided to stand up against the trash “that everyone does.” Lucky for me, this campus and the high school students in Iowa, this brave heart isn’t too far away. In fact, Sister Soleil’s Stella Katsoudas calls Ames her “home away from home.”

This past weekend, Katsoudas came to People’s for two shows. She also came to Musicland to chat with admirers, to the KKDM studio to chat with admirers and to the Ames Youth and Shelter Services to chat with people she admires.

In her cute, childlike voice, Katsoudas talked to fans about everything from her current single “Red,” to her soon-to-come record deal. But in all of her words, it was her explanation of the Xs she wears that stood out.

The Xs, which were printed across her metallic silver shirt on Saturday night, stand for what Katsoudas calls “straight-edge,” a lifelong dedication to abstaining from drugs, alcohol and casual sex.

For those unfamiliar with Katsoudas history, she grew up in a strong Chicago rave scene. Now, I am no expert on raves, but I would guess they wouldn’t be the easiest place to grow up drug free.

But Katsoudas pulled it off and proudly admits that drugs and alcohol have never appealed to her. She told me last week that she doesn’t think of herself as being different from her friends that aren’t “straight-edge,” nor does she judge anyone who chooses not to abstain.

“You shouldn’t have to do drugs for anyone,” she said. Her mission, which she expresses very sincerely, is to prove that alcohol and drugs do not go hand-in-hand with music.

So is she right? It’s hard for me to say that she is when some of my favorite bands have gone on stage and spoke of their need to “get high.”

This summer, my little brother and I went to see 311 in Des Moines and not only did the band talk-up smoking pot for a few minutes, it also played two or three songs all about “the herb.”

To be honest, I lost a lot of respect for one of my favorite bands that night.

I don’t care if 311 smokes pot. But when you promote it to a crowd of high schoolers, that’s when I get pissed.

Well, my brother and his classmates can now be rest assured that all of their musical heroes don’t engage in throwing their lives away to drugs. Why? Because Sister Soleil has spoken.

Do you want to know what the coolest thing about Katsoudas’ “straight-edge” campaign is? It works. Her show at People’s (a normally very smoke-filled bar) was the least smokey I’ve ever witnessed.

And her real fans, the ones by the stage, none of them were smoking or sporting blunt shirts.

I commend Stella Katsoudas for giving us “straight-edge” fans an idol that we don’t have to look past a few things to adore.

I commend her for standing up for herself but not judging people — because everyone knows that’s not easy to do.

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Corey Moss is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.