With prom approaching, Juniors and Seniors were treated to an assembly about the dangers of drinking and driving on Wednesday June 5. The program Every 15 Minutes tries to show students how people can be affected by drinking and driving. It is based on the statistic that every fifteen minutes another person dies from an alcohol related driving incident. The program represented this by pulling students out of class every fifteen minutes. Students were perplexed early in the day when they first saw the Grim Reaper walk into their class. The Grim Reaper came and summoned a student, who was then “dead” for the rest of the day. They returned to class with their faces painted white, and could not interact with any other students. A police officer then informed the class that the student had died in an alcohol related driving incident. This had a profound effect on the students. Senior Andrew Hodges was taken aback by the display: “It was really weird to see all the “dead” students. It really made the concept of someone dying every 15 minutes hit home.”

At the end of the day all Juniors and Seniors were called out to Aircast Field. There,  an intense demonstration awaited them. The program used student volunteers to reenact a car accident caused by alcohol. The student actors were decked out in makeup that made it look like they really were in an accident. There were real cars, firemen, and even a helicopter to airlift two of the victims. The students were obviously very moved by this presentation.

Hopefully many students learned that drinking and driving never has a happy ending. Have a safe prom weekend everyone, and remember to be responsible!