Mock crash necessary for students
On Thursday, we published a story about Mars Area High School’s mock accident assembly, a dramatization of the results of driving under the influence.
Student actors were “injured” as well as pronounced “dead” at the scene while Adams Township police officer Mike Bordt addressed a crowd of Mars juniors and seniors behind the simulated wreckage of a head-on collision.
“We have a very real scene here for you today,” Bordt told the students. “As we get into the 2023 prom and graduation season, watch what’s going on here and just realize that this could be the effects of what impaired driving can do.”
While some things may be difficult to see, it’s important for students to have assemblies such as this one to keep them safe.
It’s easy to have a subconscious Superman complex in high school. Students don’t have the experiences to realize some kinds of consequences. Many adults don’t either. When we see something, even if we know it’s a performance, it can cement the proper wariness in our minds.
After the demonstration, students were taken inside the high school auditorium for a presentation on the effects of driving under the influence.
Megan Lenz, Mars Area School Board member and supervisor for AHN Prehospital Operations, said the mock accident assembly started as a senior project more than 15 years ago and said the experience was “invaluable” to students.
“We do these all over the place, and this is the only one I’ve ever seen where they actually put the student in a body bag,” Lenz said. “I mean, that’s pretty intense.”
Sometimes intensity is the only thing that can make humans realize they’re as vulnerable as the person next to them, and it can mean the difference between performance and reality.
We commend everyone involved with putting the assembly together, and wish students a fun, safe — and sober— prom and graduation season.
— CM
