By Isabelle Chiu
Staff Writer
The “Every Fifteen Minutes” assembly is effective because it accurately portrays the seriousness and severity of the consequences of drunk driving, which will cause students to think twice before driving drunk.
On June 4 and 5 Mira Costa will hold “Every Fifteen Minutes” in partnership with Costa’s People Attaining Complete Equality (PACE) and the Manhattan Beach Police and Fire Departments. This year the event will be filmed and produced and edited for the following year. The first day features a simulated car crash set up on the north athletic field and is followed by an assembly on the second day to show the dangers of driving while intoxicated to Costa’s juniors and seniors.
Throughout the first day, every fifteen minutes, a “Grim Reaper” will pull students “killed” in a car crash out of class. Immediately after the student is pulled out, a police officer will enter the classroom to read an obituary that was written by the “dead” student’s parents. These students will return to their classes as the “living dead” and will wear gray face paint and not speak for the rest of the day. This is meant to be emotional for both the living and dead students because it emphasizes on the aftermath of what could happen due to one poor decision.
In the simulated car crash, seven Costa students will pretend to be bloody and bruised while one student, the “driver,” will call the police. The MBPD and MBFD will arrive to the scene and will work together to follow procedures that would happen in a real accident, including taking injured students to the hospital. According to PACE president Alison DeRosa, this is so accurately shown it will cause students to think about what can happen if they make the harmful decision to drink and drive.
Later in the demonstration, some of the “injured” Costa students will be proclaimed “dead,” which will include notifying the parent that their child has passed away. The driver will also be judged and sentenced to years in prison for murder. This will show students how fragile a life is and how one mistake driving drunk can quickly lead to other deaths, and will encourage students to make wiser decisions.
The following day there will be an assembly held for all the “dead” students consisting of obituary readings and a testimonial from the father of former Costa student Henry Pearson, who was killed in a drunk driving accident. The assembly portrays students the aftermath of a poor decision and encourages students to be more aware of their decisions in the future.
This event specifically targets juniors and seniors, because are the majority of students who are legally allowed to drive. This event should continue to be held for just juniors and seniors since they are the ones that need this reminder, as juniors and seniors will be the majority attending prom.
This event is also held a week before prom as a reminder not drink and drive during prom night. This is timed appropriately since some students will drink during prom, and with the assembly still fresh in their minds, students will think twice before drinking and getting into a car if drunk.
Ultimately, the goal of this is to make students more aware of their decisions and to make students realize the severity of their actions if they choose to drink and drive. If this event prevents at least one student from getting into a car with a drunk driver before prom then it will be a life-saver. “Every Fifteen Minutes” is an excellent reminder to students to be more careful during prom and beyond high school.
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