The student organized group, S.M.A.S.H, (Students Make A Safer Highway), was formed with the purpose of ensuring that our students drive safely and without breaking the law. This club has been a part of Lakeview for the last few years and keeps coming up with bigger and better programs each year.
S.M.A.S.H itself is run under the 4-H Club and secures funding through donations and fundraisers. On every second Friday of the month, students from schools all over Trumbull county send representatives to discuss, plan, and build their winter and summer programs. The point of the club is for the representatives to learn the information they need to advise their fellow peers at their own schools about the importance of safe driving.
Last year’s Winter program included a pledge, tire tread checking and a spirit week where the students wore specific outfits for each day of the week. In the Spring program, they brought in a special guest, a man who tragically committed vehicular manslaughter while under the influence, which is something that will haunt him for the rest of his life. He told his story at the Pancake Breakfast to warn the students of the danger of drunk driving since the students were nearing prom.
S.M.A.S.H also brought in “drunk goggles” which when worn, simulate what it’s like to be drunk, from the blurry vision to the lack of spatial awareness. They paired the goggles with an obstacle course for students to try to complete. Only a handful of students were able to complete the course flawlessly, which just comes to show how hard it is to do something while under the influence, especially driving.
Each year, S.M.A.S.H members try to come up with new and exciting ways to teach their peers how to be safe on the road, but some ideas work well so they are brought back each year. When asked which ideas he plans to bring back, Senior William Bullock said, “We plan to bring back the tire tread check, and the pledge, but sadly we decided to wait till a year before bringing in another guest.”
If you were wondering how to become a part of S.M.A.S.H, then sorry you may be out of luck. At Lakeview, there can only be 4 people in S.M.A.S.H at any given time. That includes two seniors and two juniors that are hand picked by our principal, Lawrence Herrholtz. Also, the two Seniors are usually returning members who were the Junior picks in the past year. So while you may not be able to participate yourself, you may be able to join in on one of the programs that they make each year.
In S.M.A.S.H, there are 4 pillars by which the members stand by and those are Distracted Driving, Seatbelts, Speeding, and Driving Under the Influence. These are the leading causes of crashes and when asked which pillar of S.M.A.S.H is her favorite, Junior Camryn Ross said, “My favorite pillar of S.M.A.S.H is seatbelts. I enjoy advocating to the youth about the importance of wearing your seatbelt. I can not express how important it is to wear your seatbelt, so I am glad that S.M.A.S.H gives me the opportunity to spread awareness.”
You may ask, what does it matter? What are they changing? Well, as a result of last year’s programs, the number of teen related crashes across the county decreased by a noticeable amount. By sharing the information they learned at S.M.A.S.H, the representatives of each school were able to potentially prevent their classmates from getting into a life changing accident.
Don’t believe it? Ask Senior Gage Woofter how impactful the Prom Pancake Breakfast was for him and how it changed his perspective on whose life is at risk when someone chooses to drive under the influence. Woofter stated that, “The speech that was given during the Pancake Breakfast really spoke to me, when you choose to drive while under the influence, you not only put your life on the line, you put everyone else’s life on the line too.”
This statement is very true and even though we will never be able to get back the lives lost that day, at least their loss can serve as a reminder to help prevent any more tragic incidents.
All things considered, S.M.A.S.H is here to stay and to prevent students from getting into crashes. As the other Senior in S.M.A.S.H this year, I hope to see you all join in on our winter and spring programs!
