I live nearby El Camino High School and was shocked to hear of such drastic tactics. Manipulating emotions is a horrible deed, and more efficient steps could be taken to prevent drunken driving. Perhaps, rather than bold-faced lying to the students, they could have set up a program similar to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and offer designated drivers for no cost to the students.

wtf
thats horrible.

“haha, guys, your friends arent ACTUALLY dead! We just pretended they were to shove anti drinking propaganda down your throat! We got you good!”

I agree that it was drastic measures, and MADD has done great work with the high school crowds. I can’t say what I would do in that situation, but I still think that was a great idea, and something the teens will remember for years. If it even helps one teen from getting behind the wheel after a few beers, it worked. Hands Down.

That’ll teach those kids to trust people in authority. You see it’s OK to lie if you’re doing it for the greater benefit.

I don’t agree with this idea at all. I am very involved in my schools SADD group (Students Against Drinking and Driving) and I can say we would never do anything like this. People in our school have already experienced losses from drinking and driving and to use this as a cheap ’scare tactic’ is insensitive and completely unacceptable. There are many ways to ’scare’ kids into not drinking and driving and I agree that the scare tactic is very effective but this is simply going too far. At my school one of my favorite events to take part of is the SAFTY program (Stop Alcohol From Traumatizing Youth). In this program SADD students get stage makeup injuries and the RCMP, fire department, and hospital all work together to get a car thats actually been in a car accident, and reenact a drinking and driving accident, including the jaws of life and being airlifted out of the area. After the students watch that they then watch a hospital scene where their classmates are attempted to be revived and the drunk driver (also a student) is told that they’ve killed their friends. The most effective part is having two parents act as the parents of the victims when they are told. Then the students involved with the reenactment talk to the kids. This i think is much more effective and sensitive then telling kids that their friends are dead. I, graduating in two weeks, would be angry more then anything if i was told that.

Um, ok. I’m not a drinker. BUT if they had done this in my high school, once I found out it was fake, I’d honestly be like “what the fuck, I’m gonna go get hammered now”. So even though I’m not a big drinker, I still do sometimes but I mostly enjoy other mind altering substances.. and when I indulge in these substances, I don’t drive. I’m not retarded. Being under the influence doesn’t make me stupid enough to think I can drive. Usually when I’m fucked up I think to myself “wow I’m really fucked up… I should just stay right here. Yess.” I’d just be really really pissed off if I was lied to like that. I hate MADD. A lot.

No that IS horrible.
Losing a friend is one of the worst things someone can go through, and they call it “a practical joke”???
Jesus christ!
Whoever came up with this plan should be shot.
I’m a teenager, with a dead friend and if a school did this to me I would go “drink drive” in protest.
And hopefully I would kill someone, it wouldn’t be funny then.

“If it even helps one teen from getting behind the wheel after a few beers, it worked.”

But at what price? There’s always going to be a drastic tact that will get results, but is telling a bunch of teenagers that their friend is dead really ethical?

Lying to a group of people “for their own good” is always a slippery slope. If these were adults, I doubt there would be anyone supporting this type of manipulation, but for some reason, because these are teens, they don’t warrant the same level of consideration.

Great comments you guys. I know it’s a tough thing to think about, and I still agree with this tactic. However, i completely understand your points, and really, if someone had done that to me in my high school, i’d probably have freaked out.

Over at El Camino High School, there weren’t many parents who complained. i think their thinking was that maybe some kids do need to be scared straight to stop from making stupid decision. it happens.

thanks again for comments everyone. i really appreciate it.

It’s good that schools want to keep kids from driving under the influence and things of that nature, but I think El Camino High took things a bit too far. Not only could it lead to students mistrusting their administration, but thinking a good friend had died only to find out later that it was all just a joke could traumatize a student as much as actually losing a loved one. Things like this only add insult to injury for the victims of drunk driving and their loved ones.

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Lies and deceit do not belong in a supposed place of learning. Have the cops take their trust killing tricks else where.