To the Editor of the West Seattle Herald,

I am writing to you in an effort to inform you of the efforts West Seattle High School Diversity Club students are making to spread awareness about drunk driving. In a D.C. meeting nearly everyone in the group could name a friend, or a friend of a friend who had been affected by drunk driving. Although students see the ads on TV, most of us agreed that our student body as a whole doesn’t fully understand how harmful drinking and driving can be. For this reason we are making a push to spread awareness, in part by contacting you. Additionally we are making posters that will be put around the school to discourage drinking and driving, as well as having an assembly featuring a speaker from M.A.D.D. to further our efforts.

While we know that informing people about the dangers of drinking and driving won’t eliminate the problem, we are hopeful that it will impact West Seattle students enough to prevent them from driving under the influence themselves or getting in the car with someone who’s been drinking. The statistics alone should be enough to prevent teens from drinking and driving. According to the CDC although the percent of teens who drink and drive has decreased dramatically in the last 20 years, 1 in 10 teens still drink and those who do are 17 times more likely to be killed in an accident than adults. If we are able to prevent even a single accident by informing our peers, then it can be considered a success.

Thank you for your time,

Lukas Irwin
WSHS Diversity Club Co-President