Students Reflect on Lessons from ‘Shattered Dreams’

Fire+fighters+pull+apart+the+doors+of+the+crashed+vehicles+to+save+the+victims+trapped+inside+on+May+20%2C+2015+during+the+Shattered+Dreams+program+at+Argyle+High+School.+%28Greg+Royar%29

Fire fighters pull apart the doors of the crashed vehicles to save the ‘victims’ trapped inside on May 20, 2015 during the Shattered Dreams program at Argyle High School. (Greg Royar)

Annabel Thorpe, Managing Editor

Bewildered and confused, the student body sat listing to the sound of sirens coming over the intercom with an announcement of a student death soon to follow. Little did the student body know that they were about to participate in The Shattered Dreams program.

The Shattered Dreams program influenced many students in both positive and negatives ways when it swept through the district on May 5 – 6. The event is a national program that many schools implement to show their students the affects of drinking and driving through teaching different methods. Argyle chose to have the student body view a ‘real scenario’ mock crash scene, which would later to contribute a complete video of the ‘crash victims’ night in an assembly the next day. After viewing the video during the assembly, the students then listened to two speakers, both victims of drinking and driving. The event has impacted the lives of many.

“The first day seemed more like a joke and wasn’t very serious,” senior and student witness Jonathan Davis said, “but the second day had a whole different tone. Although that is kind of sad that drinking is relatable, I think a lot of people could relate to scenes in the movie. Drinking and driving is a very serious issue in Argyle, and I think this program addressed the truth. It made everyone stop and think about what it would be like if a friend, son, or daughter actually died.”

Planning for the program began last year, and was meant to happen the week before prom. However, due to the crash of the IAC, administration thought it “bad timing” and held off. No students were notified of the program, as Shattered Dreams was meant to be a surprise to the student body. Even the students involved in the filming and crash scene were unaware of their involvement until they arrived at the filming sight on Tuesday, May 19.

“I had to rush home from work in Lewisville because my mom was making dinner with my brother Tim, supposedly, and made it sound like a big deal,” ‘drunk driver’ senior Scottie Douglas said. “So I rushed home from work and then we drove to some random house in Argyle and my mom was like ‘Hey, give me your phone’. I was confused, but then everything was explained to us.”

Filming the mock party scene began right away. Later that night, the students were told about their roles in the crash scene and “how big of a deal it was”.

“It wasn’t just making a video, it was a huge training exercise for Denton County and the Sheriff’s office,” Douglas said. “When I was asked by officer Cairney to get my ID out, I reached in my pocket and was pulling out my wallet and my hands were shaking pretty uncontrollably. It was pretty much because I was like ‘This does happen and I never want to be in the position I am in right now and it seemed so real, even though I knew it wasn’t. I would say that was a big experience for those who were involved.”

Other students  were very concerned when they did not hear from their friends for 24 hours.

“One of my best friends was a victim in the accident,” junior Micki Hirschhorn said. “I had not heard from her all Tuesday night, and it freaked me out. So when I saw her ‘involved’ in the accident, it really hit home for me. The program really does open people’s eyes to how their actions affect others and how it could literally shatter their dreams. I loved the program, and I’m sad I was unable to participate.”

Care flight arrives on the scene of the Shattered Dreams program as 'crash victims' to the hospital on May 20, 2015 at Argyle High School. (Greg Royar)
Care flight arrives on the scene of the Shattered Dreams program and a ‘crash victim’ was then transported to the Denton Regional hospital on May 20, 2015 at Argyle High School. (Greg Royar)

Following the crash scene, others students, were pulled from class and declared ‘dead’ to show the statistic of every 15 minutes a death happens due to drunk driving. Once pulled out of class by teacher Matthew George disguised as the Grim Reaper, the ‘dead’ students were taken out of class to have their faces painted white. The ghosts could not speak to any other students or teachers for the remainder of the day after returning to class. Later that night, the dead were taken to a Camp Copass in Denton with the other ‘crash victims’. No one was allowed the use of a cellphone, and no contact with the outside world was permitted.

“I sort of treated it as a fun day when I could just relax,” Evan Welsh said, “but then when we were taken to the retreat it got really serious. It showed how influential death is, and how one stupid mistake can hurt so many people.”

Senior Veronica Rouly received the announcements of the ‘deaths’ in a different way.

“On the whole, it is a nice idea, but I feel that it was cruel and unnecessary,” Rouly said. “I detested Wednesday and how the deaths were called out along with the obituaries.”

However, the crash was very impactful for the students involved, especially junior Maddy Haynes, who was care-flighted after the ‘crash’.

“I know it was fake, but to the accident victims it felt so real,” Haynes said. “It was an amazing experience that has changed my life forever.”

Not all student spectators appreciated the ‘crash’ in the same way, and believe that “the program had the best affect on those who were directly involved”.

“The ‘accident’ didn’t elicit any emotional impact on students, and it ultimately became a joke,” junior Mark Pfohl said. “Future programs should avoid a school wide viewing of the accident and get rid of the ‘deaths’ and have deceased students remain out of class.”

A common opinion among the students was that the second day was more impactful with “the beautiful video” and guest speakers, Crystal Spradley and husband Shea Spradley, who were in a fatal car crash when Mr. Spradley was driving while intoxicated. The assembly caused many students to pledge not to drink and drive.

“Now that I have discovered all of the catastrophes that go on, I have decided to take the pledge and never drink and drive as long as my body is still continuing to live on,” Junior Gage McCook said.

Senior Jaxon Baum made a life changing decision that day as well.

“I haven’t made some great decisions in the past,” Baum said, “but because of that, I will never be involved in any kind of drinking and driving, first or second-hand.”

Although the main message of the assembly was to not drink and drive and “understand that for good or for ill, the decisions that you make at this time in your life are going to impact the rest of your life”, Senior Hayden Little wished he had the chance to make a different message.

“I heard countless people say things like ‘drinking is inevitable’ or ‘it’s just something that’s going to happen’,” Little said. “These statements, things we even heard from our special guest speakers, I see as extremely destructive. Being someone who doesn’t drink, I felt as though there were powerful things that could have made a real impact on my peers, but I wasn’t given the chance to voice these. I am not, nor will I ever be okay with accepting the fact that kids are illegally consuming alcohol and forming destructive habits in their developmental years.”

However, for the majority of students, the program made them open their eyes and AISD’s police chief Paul Cairney said that it struck him that people were truly paying attention.

“I feel like the program was a great thing to do, even if it stops only one person from drinking and driving,” Claire Betzhold said. “It made me acknowledge the fact that every student, whether they were best friends with me or not, has an impact on my life.”

Fire department personnel observe the crash scene during the Shattered Dreams program on May 20, 2015 at Argyle High School. (Greg Royar)
Fire department personnel observe the crash scene during the Shattered Dreams program on May 20, 2015 at Argyle High School. (Greg Royar)

 

 

 

Per request of the Shattered Dreams committee board, The Talon News staff members did not take pictures during the crash or the assembly.