Last Tuesday, April 7th, Palisade had its annual Live Above assembly. The assembly is to encourage students to live above the influence of substances. This year’s assembly brought in Misty Lasaider, who shared her experiences with drunk drivers. On top of the assembly, the Student Council randomly selected a student every 15 minutes to wear a black shirt. The black shirt represents the statistic that every 15 minutes someone dies due to a drunk driving accident. Along with wearing a black shirt the students were not supposed to speak. A total of 29 students were chosen.
Gavin Burke, a junior at Palisade High School and a member of STUCO, gives his input on the event. When Burke was asked what this represents for him, he answered, “It’s a way for people to visualize what the impact of their decisions are. I don’t feel like people understand that to a full and true extent.” Burke adds on saying, “I want people to be responsible and think more about their decisions. People need to do the right thing whether that’s making a call to their folks or choosing not to be the one behind the wheel.” Dalton Mecouch, a junior who was chosen to wear a black shirt says, “It impacts me because people around me drink and it’s scary to think that someone every 15 minutes someone dies from a drunk accident.”
The shirts represent the possibility of accidents to people you know. Make sure you’re always making good decisions and choices. As we go through our everyday lives we need to consider our actions, live above the influence of substances, and drive safely.
