With two weeks until Prom, the school organization Safeline is presenting a DUI prevention demonstration to emphasize the dangers of being behind the wheel intoxicated. This assembly will take place on Wednesday, May 8, where students will be shown a video that captures the events leading up to and consequences that follow when a group of kids go to a prom afterparty and make one life-changing decision.
I asked some of the people involved in the creation of the educational short film some questions about their thoughts around high school/prom drinking culture to spread awareness and why it was so important to get together outside of school to write, film, and share this movie to the student body.
Questions:
*How did you guys approach such a heavy topic to effectively get the point across? Creative process?
*Have you ever been negatively impacted by real world drunk driving?
*How can someone prevent drunk driving?
*Do you think drinking and teenagers are getting way worse than ever before?
*What’s your opinion about underage drinking culture?
*Have you witnessed a drunk driver?
*Have you had to stop someone from getting behind the wheel?
Kieran Graves said keeping in mind the main goal and not straying away from the main theme was crucial in the planning on this video. A little bit of subtle humor was added to keep the audience engaged but not trying to make it a joke. Also, making it as real as possible without being too graphic was important to connect with the viewer. Kieran shared that a family friend was a back seat passenger of a drunk driver and died from that person’s decision of getting behind the wheel after a wedding.
When asked her thoughts about underage drinking she answered, “Absolutely not to underage drinking because we’re not old enough to make those decisions and it can cause life-altering events that will definitely be filmed” and Kieran has seen some make a fool of themselves.
It’s also important to note from the National Institute of Mental Health that the brain stops growing during adolescence, but the prefrontal cortex is the last to mature and that is the area that is responsible for planning and making decisions.
The second person I interviewed was Micaiah Pike, and right off the bat he said he was strongly against underage drinking. He believes it is becoming too normalized for underage drinking and some people need to learn limits. Don’t take things too far and don’t create a hazardous environment. He shared with me he had a drunk driving encounter in Union City on the way to Erie during one of his first permit trips. He got the green light to go when he was turning right. A car from the opposing side of traffic in their line in front of him and a line of cars and he blew on the horn. The drunk driver then proceeded to pull into the Moose to continue drinking. “He looked lost and not with it,” Micaiah expressed.
Olivia Jackson was the last person I interviewed to get these real world perspectives. To prevent drunk driving, take their keys. If there is a handyman, take their tools too. Olivia is against underage drinking because teenagers are immature.
Kieran believes nowadays drinking is more accessible, but Olivia believes this isn’t a new trend and the laws are getting stricter. Olivia even expressed how people she knew got away with many things including not even getting carded as a teenager at local beverage stores.
Though these questions seem somewhat intrusive they are only asked to truly advocate that these very real life problems are closer to us then we think. Our neighbors, classmates, friends, and family probably all have been in scary situations and traumatic experiences with the horrors of intoxication, whether they were in high school, under the age, or legally intaking beverages. This article is 100% trying to shine light on the drinking culture of high school students and although teenagers have been sneaking around for decades upon decades, in recent times it seems to have worsened.
Although federally, the government has cracked down on the use of substances across the board, even recently bumping the purchasing age of tobacco products to 21, it is still very easily available to the common high school student. An unfortunately common theme is parents even purchasing drinks or products for their children. Again, family members are a big gateway into unsafe practices because older siblings also provide drinks, etc., and then that is how these substances get distributed.
I hope the main point any reader can take from this article is to uphold your morals in a world full of people trying to poison you. Remember, a sober queen is still a queen with an even prettier crown.
