DUI case at SRHS gives students something to think about

On Wednesday, September 21st, all seniors reported to the auditorium for a two hour assembly. During this assembly, students witnessed a real account of a DUI Court. Students watched as an Ursuline alumnus got convicted and sentenced to two nights in jail for driving herself and a friend while under the influence. Police officers led the handcuffed, young lady out of the auditorium after her two night sentence to jail. Her sorrow and embarrassment were prominent, allowing the students to understand the magnitude of the situation.
 
Judge Nadler informed students about alarming statistics regarding teenage drivers driving under the influence. Six students volunteered to put on goggles that showed the effects of alcohol. Police officers then tested them as if they were pulled over for drunk driving. The volunteering students laughed as they couldn’t stand on one leg.
 
Surprisingly, students handled the intense environment very well. Coscarelli said, "I was very pleased with the senior’s behavior. Judge Nadler has never done this with such a big crowd and was at first apprehensive about it." After the assembly, Nadler said the 500 seniors behaved better than Nadler’s normal crowd of 100 people.
 
Senior Vice President Casey Soekland expressed her opinion of the court case by saying, "I think the students learned about how much it costs and how it can affect your life or job [if convicted of DUI]." She further said, "I thought the DUI Court Case was a good idea because it gave students an idea of what the consequences would be."
 
Senior President Jeff Degolia said, "I thought it was a great idea, it reinforced what we witnessed last year with Every 15 Minutes." When asked if the DUI Court had any connection with Every 15 Minutes, Coscarelli said, "No, there’s no connection. It just worked this way."
 
This was the first year Santa Rosa High hosted the DUI Court Case. The district proposed this idea to Principal Coscarelli last year but could not find time to schedule it for the 2010-2011 school year. The district office put the entire thing together, including covering the cost.
 
Coscarelli is hoping to do the DUI Court Case again, but it all depends on how many furlough days SRHS has. If there are more days taken out of the school calendar next year, privileges like this assembly will be taken away.