Horrified bystanders look on at the staged drunken driving accident.
By Tyler Felty
Most everyone knows someone who drinks. And most everyone knows someone who drives. But when the two are done together, the results can be deadly—as students at Cedar Springs High School saw earlier this week.
Cedar Springs High School juniors and seniors were invited to an assembly Tuesday morning, April 26 that stirred an emotional response in many students. With prom coming up Friday, the students heard a speaker from the Kent County Sheriff’s Department on the risks of drinking and driving. He showed a graphic video consisting of police photos of accident scenes, reenactments, an interview with a coroner, and after interviews with people involved in drunk driving accidents.
The drunk driver is arrested by the sheriff’s deputy.
However, what really drove the message home was the final still-life image made by Justin Harnden’s advanced drama class hiding behind the curtain. When the curtain parted, there was a crushed four-door vehicle, with the actors portraying the tragedy of a drunk-driving accident. Students’ bloody, mangled bodies were strewn around the scene, while the bystanders looked on in horror. The driver appeared to be uninjured, and was being arrested.
There was complete silence in the audience as they witnessed the gruesome scene.
The administration wrapped up the assembly by saying that this message wasn’t just for prom or graduation, but a lesson to remember well beyond high school.
this was such an awesome assembly put on by our kent county sheriffs department and school. i want to thank everyone who helped make this possible. i deff cried. i know people that drink and drive and it kills me to know they could kill someone or seriously injure them. and i know that i do not want the police on my moms door saying “your daughter aleisha smith will not be coming home she is dead” or “we need someone to come down and identify this body it is believed to be your daughter” i came home early from prom due to sickness. so i can safely say that my date and i were not out drinking…or drinking and driving. thanks again to everyone who made this possible it was an eye opener(:
I often wonder the effectiveness of these assemblies. Not that I am pro-drunk driving. I just wonder if people that will make the wrong decision will do so no matter what. Alot of the people who drink and drive have no respect for rules and the safety of others. So I just do not know how effective explaining the consequences to someone like that would be. Do you think it changed minds of students aleisha? If so it would go against my thinking (which is fine as long as these types of things are effective).