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Sun editorial:

A cruel hoax

Twist on popular school program leads to unwarranted trauma

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | 2:07 a.m.

Many high schools in Clark County and elsewhere around the country have long relied on an intensive two-day program called “Every 15 Minutes” to teach students about the hazards of driving under the influence of alcohol. It is a mock exercise in which a student is removed from class every 15 minutes. A police officer then enters the classroom to declare the student dead. The student returns to class with ghoulish makeup, a coroner’s tag and a black Every 15 Minutes T-shirt, but as a “victim” is not allowed to speak or interact with classmates for the rest of the school day.

Other elements of the program include a simulated traffic collision and a mock funeral on school grounds, as well as trips to the morgue, a hospital emergency room and jail. Parents are encouraged to participate in the program, which bills itself as a real-life experience without the real-life risks.

But things went terribly awry last month when El Camino High School in Oceanside, Calif., came up with an absurd twist on the program. As reported by the Associated Press, the school enlisted Highway Patrol officers to deceive students into believing that some of their classmates had actually died in car wrecks over the prior weekend. As might be expected, the cruel hoax wound up traumatizing the student body and caused some students to become hysterical.

Thanks to those wrong-minded school officials and law enforcement officers, do not be surprised if many of the students have a difficult time trusting authority figures in the future. Teaching the dangers of driving while drunk is a meritorious topic for any high school, but not when it crosses the line and causes unwarranted grief. As much as Southern Nevada looks west for ideas on government reform, this is one experiment that should never leave Southern California, and in fact should never have been implemented. Just as alcohol does not mix with driving, a cruel hoax has no business in education.

Discussion: 5 comments so far…

  1. By lp
    6/18/08 at 3:27 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    In 1990 my brother Walter Pinon was killed by an 18 year old drunk driver, on Eastern. The teenager's alcohol level was .18. He was driving his fathers truck. In 1996 my brother Ruben Pinon was killed by an 18 year who had 4 passengers with him in the Ford Explorer. It happened on Tropicana. It was his mothers SUV. They ran away, we can't prove they were drinking. Either, it is estimated he ran a red light at over 50 mph. Let me ask you, how many times do you take those roads? These kids need to be scared. Support education. Cruel Hoax? My parents and I are living the cruel hoax of all.

  2. By lp
    6/18/08 at 3:41 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    I want to correct my previous comment. My brother Ruben Pinon was killed in 2006. Since then, I have been fired from four jobs, becuase I cannot control my depression. I have developed Adult Attention Deficit. This kid is now facing up to 15 years in prison. I think I understand unwarranted truama. If this saves one life, it saves a hundred. The highway patrol faces this every day. If they think it is needed, support them. Thank You.

  3. By laffertyr05
    6/18/08 at 10:52 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    I totally disagree with the cruel hoax. It's like the boy cried wolf. You tell these kids their friend has passed, they grieve, only to find out they've been lied to. When it really happens, they're not gonna believe it - thus feeling guilty when they find out it's true.

  4. By realops
    6/18/08 at 7:43 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    As an ex-police officer and EMT I have been around my fair share of tragedies. In fact, I was just at a funeral today -- the pain is real.

    Here is the problem with the un-educated minds that control the El Camina High School. The event didn't target the guilty. It targeted ALL students, including the innocent who will never be guilty. The government should not be allowed to place the innocent into a mental quagmire under the guise of future good use.

    Think about what they really did: they inflicted significant real pain (the pain of really losing someone) to an innocent group who they believed may be guilty of a felony in the future.

    I do not want my government judging me into a group and then pre-emptively punishing me for the actions of the few. This punishment was not light either -- this was severe punishment.

    The officers and the school should be ashamed.

    Tisk. Tisk. Tisk.

  5. By Rachel
    6/18/08 at 10:04 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    The Every 15 Minutes program has had great success in opening the eyes of these kids that think they can drink and drive and nothing bad will happen to them. Even though they know it's not real, it is very emotional and disturbing, but also very effective. However, telling kids, out of the blue, that their friends were killed in accidents as a hoax is beyond cruel.

    I was in class when our professor told us that a classmate and good friend of mine had died in an accident, and 15 years later I remember my and my classmates' shock like it was yesterday. Unfortunately, with my friend it was true. But to put kids thru that inexplicable pain and then say "gotcha!", that is not right.

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