WESTHAMPTON — In the season leading up to fun activities for high school students like prom and graduation, a student group at Hampshire Regional High School will present a demonstration of a mock accident to their peers to warn them of the dangers of impaired driving.
The mock accident is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, and is presented by Students Against Destructive Decisions. Following the accident, speaker and comedian John Morello will perform a one man show called “Dirt,” a comedic act warning against bullying and substance abuse.
“Prom and graduation are coming up, and we always try to do something to make the situation more real for the students,” said Sarah Jablonski, SADD advisor and teacher at HRHS. “It’s important to show them that these events can happen.”
At the event, the local police and fire department will act in the demonstration and a local funeral home will provide a hearse. Students who are a part of SADD will act as the victims.
In addition to Morello’s presentation, the school’s resource officers will speak to the students about the legal process regarding impaired driving. The student group SADD recently changed its name from “Students Against Drunk Driving” to “Students Against Destructive Decisions” since impaired driving is an issue between both drug and alcohol use, said Jablonski.
“We’re really putting the emphasis on this event as a mock accident caused by drugged driving, rather than drunk driving,” Jablonski said. “Drugged driving is a more prevalent issue in high schoolers nowadays.”
In recent years, the mock accident was just for juniors and seniors, but the demonstration will be shown to the entire student body at the high school since underclassmen could get into a vehicle with an impaired driver.
Students at the middle school will do their own activities regarding the effects of impaired driving but will not see the demonstration, Jablonski said.
Jablonski said that having Morello come in to address the students will be an important facet of the demonstration, since the humor and reality of his performance will get the students to think about the larger questions of impaired driving. “You hope kids are learning this from home, but the more and more kids hear it hopefully it will sink in,” Jablonski said. “We try not to get someone who will just preach to the kids. We want the students to not drown out the noise and really get the message.”