quote:

Calif. school defends DWI shock tactics
Students were told classmates had died in car wrecks — they hadn't

OCEANSIDE, Calif. - On a Monday morning last month, highway patrol officers visited 20 classrooms at El Camino High School to announce some horrible news: Several students had been killed in car wrecks over the weekend.

Classmates wept. Some became hysterical.

A few hours and many tears later, though, the pain turned to fury when the teenagers learned that it was all a hoax — a scared-straight exercise designed by school officials to dramatize the consequences of drinking and driving.

As seniors prepare for graduation parties Friday, school officials in the largely prosperous San Diego suburb are defending themselves against allegations they went too far.

At school assemblies, some students held up posters that read: "Death is real. Don't play with our emotions."

'They got the shock they wanted'
Michelle de Gracia, 16, was in physics class when an officer announced that her missing classmate David, a popular basketball player, had died instantly after being rear-ended by a drunken driver. She said she felt nauseated but was too stunned to cry.

"They got the shock they wanted," she said.


Some of her classmates became extremely upset, prompting the teacher to tell them immediately it was all staged.

"People started yelling at the teacher," she said. "It was pretty hectic."

Others, including many who heard the news of the 26 deaths between classes, were left in the dark until the missing students reappeared hours later.

"You feel betrayed by your teachers and administrators, these people you trust," said 15-year-old Carolyn Magos. "But then I felt selfish for feeling that way, because, I mean, if it saves one life, it's worth it."

'We wanted them to be traumatized'
Officials at the 3,100-student school officials defended the program.

"They were traumatized, but we wanted them to be traumatized," said guidance counselor Lori Tauber, who helped organize the shocking exercise and got dozens of students to participate. "That's how they get the message."

The plan was to tell the truth to the students at an assembly later in the day. But word that it was all a hoax began to spread before the gathering. Tauber said some counselors and administrators revealed the truth to calm some students who had become upset.

Oceanside Schools Superintendent Larry Perondi said he fielded only a few calls from parents, while the PTA chapter said it had not heard any complaints. Perondi said the program would be revised, but he would not say how. And he said he was glad that students seemed to have gotten the message.

"We did this in earnest," he said. "This was not done to be a prankster."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25123570/

quote:

Originally posted by SeaWitch1220:
When using a "reasonable person standard"...this was a tad over the top in my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by Thud357L:
At first I thought it was too extreme but after reflection, I remember how invulnerable I and my friends were in high school. Bad things always happened to somebody else.

Maybe it'll make somebody think and realize how they felt when one of their friends "died". And when it's for real they won't be coming back.

quote:

Originally posted by The_Bonesaw:
This is complete horseshit, and a horrid way to treat those who you are not only training to become better adults, but who are also in your care (physically and mentally). Are my eyes deceiving me? Am I seeing some here agreeing that mental torment - as long as it's in the best interest - is a perfectly acceptable tactic? Stop looking at the bigger picture of the potential results and focus on the bigger picture of the reality - lying is lying.

You realize, of course, that it’s not just teenage students; virtually all of us, regardless of age, are susceptible to, "if they seem skeptical at first, let's use scare tactics to convince them of what we believe is truly in their best interest."

... it will work en masse every time but only once per costumer; those employing it will often get exactly what they initially want but will have to pay the price of having it destroy nearly all further trust in the long run.


"Ladies and gentlemen, these are not assertions. These are facts, corroborated by many sources, some of them sources of the intelligence services of other countries."
- Colin Powell

"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
- Condoleezza Rice

quote:

Originally posted by outlaws93:

alright we agree....

quote:

Originally posted by floersh:
They should probably use a similar tactic when it comes to VD..

quote:

Originally posted by The_Bonesaw:
... it will work en masse every time but only once per costumer; those employing it will often get exactly what they initially want but will have to pay the price of having it destroy nearly all further trust in the long run.

quote:

Originally posted by CalDreaming02:
When Amanda was killed crossing the street after celebrating St. Patrick's Day - ALL of us wished it was a lie. It wasn't. Kids die for stupid reasons. Drunk drivers are the #1 reason.

quote:

Originally posted by CalDreaming02:
When Amanda was killed crossing the street after celebrating St. Patrick's Day - ALL of us wished it was a lie. It wasn't. Kids die for stupid reasons. Drunk drivers are the #1 reason.

quote:

Originally posted by SurfaceDog:

quote:

Originally posted by CalDreaming02:
When Amanda was killed crossing the street after celebrating St. Patrick's Day - ALL of us wished it was a lie. It wasn't. Kids die for stupid reasons. Drunk drivers are the #1 reason.

That's not entirely true - the number one cause of death in teenagers is motor vehicle accidents. In roughly a third of those accidents alcohol was involved, but in a majority of accidents the cause was the idiocy and inexperience of youth - speeding, reckless driving, not using seatbelts etc.

quote:

Originally posted by The_Bonesaw:

quote:

Originally posted by outlaws93:

alright we agree....

On this point, yes, we do - 100%.

Any liberal who agrees that this was an okay tactic with which to torment kids, simply because the eventual results might be worth it, is a complete hypocrite, and has no right to EVER criticize the tactics employed by the Bush administration in the run up to the Iraq war.