From Deseret News archives:
Grim lesson shows teens realities of drunken driving
Juan Diego students are turned into 'ghosts' during SADD demonstration
White-faced and silent, no one spoke to Fall or more than a dozen other students who were plucked by the school's Grim Reaper throughout the day to represent sobering fatality statistics linked to drunken driving.
Last week student leaders of the school's chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions wanted students to see the destructive effects of drunken driving.
"We've heard the same thing over and over about drinking and driving, but having the visual effect will hit closer to home," said Christine Petrone, faculty adviser for SADD.
According to SADD statistics, every 32 minutes of every day, a life is lost as a result of an impaired-driving crash. Juan Diego junior Niki Sanich acted as the Grim Reaper, entering classrooms every 32 minutes and pulling a student out, painting their face white and dressing them in black.
At the end of the day the victims were lined up side by side, marked by gravestones crafted by the students.
Petrone said the demonstration is much more powerful than faculty members, school leaders or even parents talking to students about drinking and driving.
"This empowers kids to reach out to their own peers, and that has a powerful effect," Petrone said. "They expect parents or leaders to say this, but they are not expecting it from a student it's all about empowering students."
She also said that the event will stay fresh in the minds of students at the school.
"We hope that when they are faced with these temptations to drive in an impaired situation, they will remember today," she said.
The Juan Diego chapter of SADD is one of only about 15 chapters in Utah.
Originally, the mission of SADD was to help young people say no to drinking and driving. But the goals have expanded, and the organization also takes aim at preventing destructive decisions like underage drinking, other drug use, impaired driving, teen violence and teen depression and suicide.
E-mail: terickson@desnews.com
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Students at Juan Diego Catholic High School walk the halls dressed as ghosts during an activity to show that every 32 minutes a life is lost in an impaired-driving accident. From left are "victims" Anthony Voegeli, Kaitlyn Holifield and Kassy Harrison. At right is Niki Sanich, who acted as the Grim Reaper. The activity was organized by Students Against Destructive Decisions.
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