Every 15 Minutes

"Every 15 Minutes, someone dies as a result of an alcohol related collision."

Recently, Casa Roble put on a program to illustrate the dangers of getting in the car with a drunk driver, and driving drunk. Despite the charades and games that most at this school tries to play, a majority of the guises were dropped by the second rally when a guest speaker told us a story about how her daughter was killed by a drunk driver.

Day 1: The day started off with a police officer explaining the idea of the program. Every 15 minutes, someone dies from a drunk driving accident, so every 15 minutes a heartbeat would sound around the school, slow, and flatline.
Along with the flatline, a student would be removed. A grim reaper could be seen walking into a classroom, accompanied by a police officer and a piece of paper to be handed to the teacher. The teacher read to the class the story for why that student was no longer a part of their lives. Each story was an alcohol related accident.
Some students laughed at the 15 minute flatlines, joked around about the fake deaths, used other mechanisms to avoid facing the reality of the program, to cover their own emotion.
Day one was hard. The people that "died" were people important to the school: teacher, yearbook EIC, student government, cheerleader, football, etc... Every student was required to attend an assembly on the football field, a complete simulation of a drunk driving accident; wrecked cars, fire trucks, helicopter and all.
That night, there was a candle light vigil held for all the students that had been taken throughout the day. As hard as the program had been for us, it was even harder for these students' parents. Parents were asked to write a letter to their son or daughter after being told they were not coming home, and the students were asked to do the same for their parents.

Day 2: The morning of the second day seemed rather still and calm, very uneventful compared to the previous day, making everyone anxious to know what was going to happen. The "living dead," as the every 15 minute students had been termed, were unable to contact anyone for the full two days of the event; why would they? They were dead.
As the entire school crowded into the large gym for the second day assembly, the majority of the room was filled with chatter. The emotion from the day before has subsided due to the uneventful morning.
The long wait to get the event going again made the crowd uneasy and slightly anxious, leaving all the pressure on the principal, who forgot his own password onto the computer. Hint: Wedding Date.
I must admit, for the assembly having so many technical difficulties, Mr. Shoemake certainly remained calm. I never would have expected to hear a principal tell the entire school that we would be there until everything was running, no matter how long it took, because the program was that important. Any other person would have skipped the video.
Never before had I seen so many people in one room wipe their masks of nonchalance away with their tears. The way the guest speaker told her story about her daughter being hit by a drunk driver while walking to a bus stop was able to capture even the most indifferent students. Across the gym wrinkled white tissues were wiping away the involuntary tears, eyes were focused on the speaker and her story, and some heads were turned away. The touching words from this woman concluded with her advice. Kids: Listen to your parents, do what they say, and make good choices. Parents: Don't be so hard on your kids all the time, you never know what the last words you say to them may be.
After the speaker, the "living dead" and their parents had a chance to share the letters they had written. I don't know about anyone else, but I know what was running through my mind through these letters. What would my parents say if this was me? What would they do? Would their letters be like this?
Needless to say, the second day, though only filled by a 2-hour long assembly, was the hardest. The reality sunk in more than it had before. The invincibility veil that most wear was torn away by both the program and the very recent death of a Casa student who had fallen while skating.
Though I'm sure some students still were only slightly shocked by the program, I know many were shaken by the events of the week. It had been one of the most emotionally exhausting and physically draining weeks ever.