Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in America, and according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, teens are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers. The Department of Transportation reports that 5,000 teens are injured or killed nationwide over a typical prom weekend.
The students and teachers said Tuesday was about creating drug- and alcohol-free environments at their schools and throughout their communities.
Stephanie Cooper, a Spanish teacher at Middletown High School, said the school distributes shirts every spring that say: “Please return on Monday.”
But Cooper understands some teens make bad choices, either because of peer pressure or their home environment. She recently had a conversation about choices with her son.
“You get one chance,” she told him. “You have to make good choices all the time even when people aren’t looking.”
Hoping to show students that drugs and alcohol don’t have to be part of lives, Ariel Lawson, a senior at MHS, said the school is planning events around prom. She said the Friday before prom, the school will host a flag football tournament, and the following week, the day before prom, a kickball tournament.
Lawson said the attitude toward alcohol and drugs is changing at MHS as students realize it’s “not cool to go out on Saturday night and party.”
She hasn’t lost a friend, but she knows it only takes one wrong choice. “We want them saved from being in that situation,” she said of her classmates.
Students at Hamilton High School hope to accomplish the same goal, said Lance Rowe, a junior. During prom season, he said, students will use morning announcements to make humorous commercials with a serious ending.
His message to his classmates: “Don’t think you have to turn to drugs and alcohol for your happiness. Turn to things that you love in life.”
Dustin Mundey, who teaches math and a class called Foundation For Success at HHS, said anti drug and alcohol summits help “build momentum,” and show all students are battling the same issues.
“We are coming together as a community,” he said. “Not a Lakota East, a Lakota West, a Hamilton or a Middletown. We are coming together as one community. This is real important for us to keep all of our kids safe. We want you to come home to us and tell us how great your evening was and go to bed and start a new day.”
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