School hoax over drunken drivers

I think it is fine. I hope it makes them think. Those are teenagers about to graduate, they are not little kids, they know exactly the purpose of the lie.

Oooooh, so some got upset, GOOD, at least, this time it wasn't real, the next time it may be real. I hope it makes them think and think hard.

I think that it's horrible. When I was in 9th grade, we had a classmate of our die in a car accident. There was no alcohol involved, he was a passenger in a car driven by his sister. He was on life support for a week, and they ended up letting him go. If someone had told me it was a hoax and he just stepped out from a room, I would've been furious, not to mention, probably more upset. Yes, they may be kids about to graduate, but you don't go playing with someone's emotions like that. Some people can't handle death real well, and if it was someone who was close to them, it could've led to something serious happening to someone.

I think they would always remember it. There is alot to be said for shock therapy.

I heard about this on the news. Was it cruel? Yes. Was it probably effective? Yes. Too many people think "it can't happen to them, or someone they know". I don't think it hurt them to experience what it would feel like if/when it does happen.

I think it's kind of like a kid with a hot stove. You can tell them time and time again to not touch it, but they will want to "just to see". Once they touch it and get burned, they won't touch it again.

That's a simplified arguement, I know. But, it's the same way of thinking. Maybe the this weekend while they are partying, someone with take their friend's keys and at least save one life, or more.

I am all for it. I was a member of Students Against Drunk Driving and I agree that these kids need a shock. I have been touched by 3 deaths when I was a teen by drunk drivers and it has had a lasting effect. Drinking and Driving is serious and as these teens go to college or wherever they go they need to remember this feeling.

There was an small uproar at one of the local HS graduations as some grads wore T-shirts that said Class of .08 (the blood alcohol limit to be determined that one is drunk in Wisconsin).

aka "Short, sharp, shock treatment".

And to be honest the ones that are furious at the school need to thank their lucky stars that this was only a hoax, because next time it could be the real thing their being told. So instead of being angry it's time for them to sit back and think "What if"

I think it is a betrayal of trust. They didn't learn about drunk driving; they learned that those in authority aren't to be trusted. So the message will be lost and the ability to influence them is lost also.

I think those kids are smarter than that. Maybe not now, but in the future they will realize that is was done for their own good. I don't think the message will be lost, I think it will stay with them.

This is the part that gets me..."A few hours and many tears later"
What would have happened if in those "few hours" their stupid little show would have backfired right in their faces?

Yes, it does say that some kids became so upset that they told them it was a hoax right away...but what if someone didn't find out right away it was a hoax...what if they were told that their best friend had been killed in an accident and they just ran out of the school jumped in their car driving while being so upset and actually did get killed in an accident?
What if one of the students had some kind of hidden heart problem that even they didn't know about...they believe someone that they love is now dead and they suffer a heart attack and die...you don't have to be old to have a heart problem.
The people that organized this "hoax" sure didn't think it through if you ask me.

There are better ways to make a point than out and out lying to someone and upsetting them to the point that they're beside themselves with grief.

Oh, one can "what if" anything to death. That didn't happen so no worries.

Sooo... lying is ok if...
it's the adults doing the lying? If it's for a good cause?

I think its dispicable. What if the girlfriend of the boy they lied about was traumatized? That's ok? What about all the kids that know better already? It's okay to hurt them because someone MIGHT be taught a lesson?

Teenagers can be very rebellious. It wouldn't suprise me if some of them got drunk and drove just because they were so angry about this.

Very mean, IMO.

One more thing - Hypothetically - A teenager wants his parents to quit smoking. Would it be ok for him to call his dad at work and say his mother just got back from the doctor and found out she has terminal lung cancer?

I'll bet that six months from now, these kids won't have an opinion about drunk driving that is different from what they had before but will definitely remember how they were lied to.

Life is traumatizing. They are graduating, welcome to the real world.
All the people were trying to do is shock them and make them realize.

And, "if some of them got drunk and drove just because they were so angry about this." Then shame on them for cutting off their nose to spite their face. Not to mention the fact that shame on them for putting someone else's life in danger because they wanted to have a little hissy fit.

Life is traumatizing. IMO, it's traumatizing enough without faking tragedy.

Attempting to manipulate people's behavior by telling them their friends or family members are dead is just absurd.

If an employer ever tried to pull a stunt like this, it would not be pretty. Schools are so screwed up in this country. You've got schools terrified to upset kids by grading them fairly or otherwise damaging their self esteem, and then you've got stuff like this going on at the other end of things. Whatever happened to just teaching the damned kids academic subjects so they're not functionally illiterate and semi-retarded by the time they enter the workforce?

Sigh.

It is a form of Scared Straight.
Maybe my POV is different because as a teenager three brothers were killed by a drunk driver a mile from my house. Their mother lost all of her children in one fatal moment.
Or maybe it is because of the friend in High School who was in the car with her drunk father when he lost control of the car and it killed her but he survived.
Lastly it may be because my friend's brother was hit by a drunk driver and died.
This devastates families. These kids had a few hours of pain and they are lucky it wasn't a lifetime.

So if these teens had a moment of distress and it hurt then they are lucky someone cared enough about them to put this in sharp focus. When I was in college people drank loads and drove all of the time. If this saves one life and spares some grieving then it is all for the better.

But this act doesn't respect that they are smart. And not every kid involved is a well-adjusted teen-ager. They carry their own emotional problems and this could unnecessarily exacerbate it.

Few people who drive drunk actually acknowledge that they are driving drunk. Most believe that they can handle it. I don't see how this is going to change it.

I think of all people in this thread, you are the one that should be most listened to. I am so sorry for all the heartbreak these people went through.

My niece lost her father at the age of 10 years old to a drunk driver. I would be horrified that she could be put through this kind of trauma again because people think that this could teach a lesson. We were devastated by my BIL's death and almost lost his brother in the same accident. Drunk driving is a serious crime, but traumatizing students doesn't make them think rationally and I don't think any lesson was learned.

I think what happened was a good thing. Right now everyone is upset because of the trauma they went through but most of the kids will remember the feeling they had for the rest of their life. Hopefully it will make them not drink and drive ever.

When I was in high school we had a lecture given to us by the local medical examiner. She started by telling us her worst nights are the nights she has to go and tell some parents that their child was killed in a car accident caused by drunk driving. She said usually it was late at night or early morning. The way she knew which house it was on the street was because usually its the only one with the porch light still on. She then went on and told us all about what she says to the parents and how they react. She had photos of victims and family to go along with the lecture. After she spoke some family and friends of people who had lost people because of drunk driving got up and spoke. It was all very moving, not a dry eye in the room.

Some people thought the photos were a bit much and the graphic descriptions but it sure worked on me. Since then I have had a firm rule. If even one sip of alcohol passes my lips or the lips of the person who is suppose to drive than no one is driving anywhere. Everyone says oh well one beer wont kill me, but one can lead to two and so on. So basically if you want to get behind the wheel stick to soda, coffee or water just no alcohol period.

DH reason for following my rule is the fear of a DUI. In some people it only takes 2 beers to fail. He does not want to find out he is one of those people. We don't have $20,000 to pay for a DUI. Just because you don't "feel drunk or tipsy" does not mean you will not blow at or above the legal limit. One martini will cause you to fail.

Shame on them - sure, but that's not the point.

The administration could be contributing to the tragedy they are trying to prevent. Rebellious teenagers do just that - rebel against what makes them angry. I think that the school's intentions were good, but they chose to lie and cause unnecessary pain and mistrust. You refuse to respond to the part that they lied, so I guess that's okay with you.

There is plenty of real pain in the "real world." I don't see a need to make it up.

They could have had an assembly with graphic pictures and a speaker who has lost a loved one... A parent, a boyfriend... It would have been sad and it would have been real. They did NOT have to put these kids through this.

Imagine if some of those kids recently lost a loved one and then this stunt was pulled on them? Just plain wrong.

This is a Scared Sraight tactic, dealing with them straight forward, letting them see the consequences of what could happen. Being truthful with them. Yes, it will probably stay with them a lifetime. Tricking them, playing with their emotions like this other school did is something different entirely. I do not agree with the way they chose to get the message across at all.

When I was in high school, we lost three students in one year to drunk driving. We didn't need any demonstrations. But we got one anyway, and a girl in my class got in an accident because she was drunk and is now permanently disabled. Three of our classmates also lost their mothers, who had gone to Miami U to see the band compete, and were struck by a drunk driver. That was the first funeral I ever went to; one of them lived next door and was close friends with my mom. I went to prom with her son, he was never the same. Then senior year one of our almost-valedictorians lost her mom to an accident caused by a drunk driver. We were very familiar with what happens when you drink and drive.

And yet, people would still drive drunk. It can't be made too clear how dangerous it is. Our demonstration involved the student council officers being pulled from a crashed car in the stadium, one of them taken off by helicopter and one taken away in a body bag. People were crying, parents complained that it was too graphic. We also complained that at prom we all had to take a breathalyzer for entrance. But, we didn't lose anyone else after that first year.

But I have never driven after more than a single drink, and I never will. When I am the DD I have one or two, and leave at least an hour until I drive. I would rather lose a friend by taking their keys than let them drive. So eventually some of us get the point. It's sad that it takes so much. But having heard some ACTUAL announcements of deaths caused by this over the PA, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for these students. And announcing 26 of them at once... it should have been pretty obvious. Students everywhere expect this sort of thing around now.

This post illustrates all my reasons for thinking this exercise was dumb and virtually useless.

Many adults still drink and drive even after knowing of deaths because of drunk driving. Teenagers are notorious for not being influenced by fear tactics.

The demonstration she discusses of mock accidents is the kind that had been used before this one. Why the change? Maybe they decided to ratchet up the emotional reaction because it didn't work.

The last sentences expresses one of the reactions that can really be expected and I think it is a serious one. People already have a lot of trouble believing what authorities tell them because we have become so cynical from government lies, inaccurate media and deliberately misleading advertising. This would be one more example for the students of dishonest and misleading information from authorities. I think that would stay with them just as long as any "scared straight" reaction they may have had.

Another serious undesirable reaction is desensitization.

Nothing is going to be perfect and you will always have people who will do what they do anyway. But I know living it changed my life.
So if you have 500 students and half of them get it and don't do it then it is a success.
When you are young you think you are immortal and you think bad things happen to other people. As adults with some life under our belts we know how false that is.
I just can't express the despair of a lost young life by something so preventable.
Usually I would be on the side and being straightforward and honest with people. But I think of Melissa, dead at 16. Or the brothers 17, 14 and 10. Dead.
Or Tim dead at 23. They did nothing but get in a car and someone else's drinking cost them their lives. Families are shattered forever. Everyone is changed. My brother's childhood sweetheart. Dead at 25.
None of them will ever know the joy of getting married, having children or experiencing the beauty of life.

That's the opposite of what I was saying.

I understood what you were saying. I just had a different interpretation of every example you used.

Can we still get along?

Sometimes the shock factor is the only way to get through to someone. Unless they can experience the real emotions, they think it's a big joke or that it can't happen to them. Kids, especially teens, have an invincibility complex. So I applaud the school for what they did.