Last month, Hillel Yeshiva’s juniors and seniors experienced a “Rude Awakening.” Rude Awakening is a program that was started 15 years ago by a Middletown police officer, Cpl. James Roese. The program is designed to educate young adults about the dangers of drinking and driving. According to Roese, “The goal is to give students a vivid mental image of what happens when alcohol and drugs are mixed with driving a vehicle; we hope to empower every student to make safe choices this prom season.”
For the first part of the program, each student drove a golf cart, shot basketballs, and threw a sponge ball while wearing goggles that blurred one’s sight to simulate the vision of an intoxicated driver. When thrown or shot, the ball very rarely came close to the target. The goggles also demonstrated how hard it would be to drive safely while intoxicated.
The second part of the program consisted of four different speakers: a lawyer, an emergency room nurse, and victims of drunk driving accidents.
One of the speakers was Molly Berkowitz, an injury prevention nurse in Jersey Shore Medical. Ms. Berkowitz showed us a slide show of what it looks like when one comes into the emergency room after a drunk driving accident. She concluded by picking up a body bag and saying, “This shouldn’t be the last outfit that your family sees you in.”
Next, the students saw a simulation of a drunk driving accident. Real life paramedics, officers and firemen rushed to the scene. The exits of the car were sealed shut. The firemen used the Jaws of Life to pry open the exits. Within seven minutes all of the victims of the crash were out of the car in ambulances.
During the final part of the trip, each student watched a crane drop cars from different heights. Each height that the car was dropped from simulated different speeds the car would be going at the time of impact. When the cars dropped and hit the ground, the damage to the car would be the same as it would be in an accident.
The trip was clearly a huge success. Mrs. Elizabeth Sitt, an English teacher at Hillel spoke about the program, saying, “The trip made students think seriously about things they don’t always think about.” Each student left that day knowing that driving while intoxicated always leads to a “rude awakening.”
A special thanks to all of our chaperones—Esther Tebele, Lisa Cohen, Mark Chalme, Dr. Gayle Krost, Adi Cohen, Vicky Shamah and Sarah Matut—and administration and faculty members—Rabbi Howard Bald, Mrs. Emily Labaton, Dr. Daniel Herrmann, Mrs. Elizabeth Sitt and Mr. Thomas Sheridan. The presence of each chaperone enhanced the meaning of the trip and helped get the message across.
