Cruel or clever?

[amanda6035]

Originally Posted by ZTAngel

It worked for me. And if they taught at least one kid not to drink and drive or to wear their seatbelt, than I think it was worth it.

This can go both ways though. I'm sure this outrageous stunt "taught at least one kid not to drink and drive or to wear their seatbelt" and so therefore, was worth it.

[sjsoffer]

Originally Posted by amanda6035

This can go both ways though. I'm sure this outrageous stunt "taught at least one kid not to drink and drive or to wear their seatbelt" and so therefore, was worth it.

only in this case it was done with potential emotional trauma and definite harm to people's trust to affect one person; the assemblies probably didn't hurt anyone.

[AGDee]

We're not talking slight emotional distress. Do you really think that, at age 17, if you were told your best friend or your boyfriend was killed, it would be "a little emotional distress?"

The core problem with the prevention of drinking and driving is that, when you're drunk, you're not making good decisions and you don't have good judgment. EVERYBODY knows you shouldn't drink and drive and most people know someone who has died as a result of someone drinking and driving. Yet, when someone is a little too drunk to be driving, they usually believe that they are fine and don't think they are too drunk to drive. Therefore, no matter what they've experienced in the past (whether it's a fake death or a real one), it's not going to matter!

[SoCalGirl]

Links to the only local coverage I could find so far.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/n...mc30brush.html

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...1mi31madd.html

The program, titled “Every 15 Minutes,” was designed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Its title refers to the frequency in which a person somewhere in the country dies in an alcohol-related traffic accident.

Counselor Lori Tauber first approached the school and students about bringing the presentation to El Camino. Tauber's two daughters attend the school.

Tauber said she is aware that drinking and driving is occurring among the student population. “I just know in my heart this was worth it,” she said.

The second link goes into more detail about the faux accident and deaths.

[LucyKKG]

Yeah, I'd be really mad. If someone told me my boyfriend died then say j/k, I'd freaking kill them! I'd be such a wreck. I agree that it wouldn't have the benefit the administrators thought it could.

I think the video people were talking about is called "Red Asphalt."

[SWTXBelle]

. . . that their high school administration cannot be trusted. What happens when they need to have a fire drill, or God forbid, have a security problem?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

. . . that their high school administration cannot be trusted. What happens when they need to have a fire drill, or God forbid, have a security problem?

Exactly. It's like all the DARE balderdash where they tell kids that alcohol and marijuana (and hell, I think these days, tobacco) is equally as dangerous as heroin. Once they try pot and realize their brain didn't explode, they figure all they were taught about the other stuff was a lie too, so why not give it a whirl?

I wasn't the most stable in high school (shut up, I know what yinz are thinking) and if someone had gotten up on stage and said my best friend or the boy I was in love with had died, I probably would have quietly left the assembly, gone to the nurse's office, and stuffed whatever pills were available down my throat. I don't think I'm the only one.

[UGAalum94]

Not that it should make much difference in the overall debate, but I read something recently that suggested the school was planning the traditional "Ghost-Out" thing that the kids all know is fake, with kids pulled out of class and deathlike make-up etc, and it was the kids involved with the planning that said they wanted to make it more real. I'm surprised the adults signed off though.

I also have a hard time imagining that you could really make a whole school believe that the event had actually happened at the level that it would actually be traumatic, unless the kids at my school are just usually savvy.
The kids do have contact with the outside world these days with cellphones and texting, and unless the entire community was participating in the hoax, the kids at my school would know there was no wreck in about 15 minutes.

I don't think you should traumatize kids and say it's for their own good, but a lot of high school kids do love drama and measure things like assemblies by intensity of emotion felt. (It baffles me and results in many a cheezed-up, overly emotional event; don't even get me started on youth group events.)

I wouldn't be at all surprised if a lot of the kids at the school regarded this drunk driving thing as an effective lesson about drunk driving just as we all think it was a horrible idea.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by amanda6035

I cant believe not one other person who has posted to this thread thought it was a pretty good idea.

That's because it was a terrible idea. As others have said, all that any of these students learned was that their school administration is willing to manipulate them.

When the day was over, nobody was going to remember how horrible they felt to learn of the death of a friend or classmate. Any feelings about that were wiped out by learning that they had been lied to about something as serious as the deaths of their contemporaries.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Not that it should make much difference in the overall debate, but I read something recently that suggested the school was planning the traditional "Ghost-Out" thing that the kids all know is fake, with kids pulled out of class and deathlike make-up etc, and it was the kids involved with the planning that said they wanted to make it more real. I'm surprised the adults signed off though.

I'm sure the kids involved with planning the prom think it would make it "more real" if they could have actual alcohol at their Mardi Gras themed prom. I don't see the adults signing off on that one however.

[PhiGam]

I like the idea, it will certainly be in the back of their minds as prom and college approach.

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by PhiGam

... it will certainly be in the back of their minds as prom and college approach.

I don't think it will. It might come up during prom as an interesting topic of conversation; especially considering the national attention it has gotten. And, it might come up similarly in college.

But, I don't see students who have had a drink saying, "I was going to drive you home, Sally, but our administrators were so effective in demonstrating the dangers of drunk driving that I've changed my mind."

[MandyPepperidge]

I like the idea too.

We had numerous programs throughout senior year: the smashed-up car on the front lawn of the school, speakers whose loved ones had been killed by drunk drivers/not wearing seat belts, and so forth...

They were not effective given the number of classmates and schoolmates that I know that have been killed on account of drunk driving or not wearing their seatbelt.

[starang21]

good. these soft ass students need to be taught lessons. sometimes you need something to jolt you back to reality.