SADD Takes a New Approach to Advocating Safety
NEIRAD enilno edition
Are you tired of hearing people tell you repeatedly “don’t drink and drive” or “don’t use your phone while driving?” Are you sick of having people tell you what to do? This spring, the SADD Team (Students Against Destructive Decisions), run through The Depot, is bringing Darien High School students the actual experience of what it feels like to be in a car accident and to drive drunk. On Tuesday May 10th the SADD team will host a Safety Fair from 9:30am to 2:00pm at DHS.
Senior Kristi Carey, one of the officers of SADD said, “Last year in the process of planning Grim Reaper day, we came up with the idea for the safety fair. We began planning this fall.” After months of hard work, the team has incorporated all different organizations from Darien into this packed day. The Youth Asset Team, Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Transportation, and Safe Rides will hand out informational packets. Along with the information, food and drinks will be provided. The Darien Police Department has donated over 1,000 doughnuts to hand out in the courtyard and Robeks has agreed to pass around small sample smoothies. All-State Insurance Financing is sponsoring an idea called “X the Text,” in which students pledge to not text while driving. The State Troopers are bringing three simulators to the fair to allow the students to experience for themselves what it feels like to be in a roll over car accident or drive while drunk.
Janice Marzano, the program director of The Depot, says that she “hopes to raise as much awareness as possible about driving safety.” The hope is that educating and allowing the students to experience first hand the results of driving unsafely will be more impactful than just telling teens what to do. “We have contacted all the local papers and we are going to have a lot of media there, so we will reach a bigger audience than just the school,” senior and co-president of SADD, Elizabeth Billeter said.
The Safety Fair has qualified the SADD team to be a contestant in the National Organization for Youth Safety Contest (NOYS). SADD, along with 200 other groups, has been selected out of all the organizations in the nation to participate. “The contest is about creating awareness in the community,” Carey said. NOYS has sent SADD a free video camera along with other materials to document the entire process. The week of the Safety Fair, many restaurants around town will have small signs encouraging the people of Darien to vote. Heights Pizza will put stickers on all of their pizza boxes the week of the fair, reminding people to support SADD in the contest. After the fair, the SADD Team will send in their documentation, and could possibly be selected for a prize of a thousand of dollars that would potentially go toward their next project. To learn more about driving safely through the unique opportunities SADD is bringing to DHS, participate in the fair during your free or lunch period!
