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Graduation is a season for celebration. It’s
also a time for sober acknowledgment by every grad that the
accomplishments of a lifetime and the promise of the future can
be erased instantly when drinking and driving are combined.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) wants
every member of the class of 2008 to “Make It To Your Future!,”
safely.
“The Sober Graduation message is an honest,
sincere and candid one that is borne of the experience of too
many high school grads who celebrated by drinking and driving and
whose lives were changed forever, or ended, as a result,” said
Lt. Paris, commander of the CHP’s Madera Area office. “As you
celebrate your graduation from high school, remember that
drinking and driving are a deadly combination.”
Like the class of 2008, the Sober Grad program
has evolved in communities throughout California through its 23
years of learning and experience that began during the graduation
season of 1985. Students, parents, teachers, and the CHP teamed
to produce events that highlight teen success and provide a safe
environment for celebration where young people can have fun
without risking their lives and those of others by drinking,
using drugs, and driving.
An example of a popular Sober Grad activity is
an all night-long party on graduation night. Students and their
friends pledge to stay through the end of the party and abstain
from all alcohol and other mind-altering substances. Parents,
educators, and students make arrangement for food, dancing,
entertainment - even breakfast the morning after the party.
Country Club Auto Body has donated a car that will be won by one of
the seniors. Other communities produce innovative, unique events
that mirror students’ goals, objectives, and future plans.
“Sober Grad in our area this year is the
product of student’s imagination with support from parents,
educators, and other participants,” said Lt. Paris. “We’re proud
to help teens with an appealing alternative to drinking, drugs
and driving at the end of the school year.”
For those young people who would ignore the
cautions of their peers, parents, and others with greater life
experience, and who still choose to drink, use drugs and drive,
the CHP has another clear message: “We’ll provide the chaser.”
“The difference between tragedy and triumph at
graduation is a measure of a young person’s maturity,” Lt. Paris
said. “No better opportunity exists for grads to show that they
can manage the responsibilities of young adulthood to which they
graduate than by staying sober, so everyone can ‘Make It To Your
Future!’” |
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