Making It Click: SADD’s 2018 Endeavor

Kendolyn Davis, Staff Writer

Eleanor Roosevelt High School’s SADD organization recently participated in Making It Click, a program dedicated to encouraging seat-belt usage among young drivers and passengers. Students from eight schools worked to spread the word and increase seat-belt usage among teens in order to prevent crashes.

“[We are] very excited,” said sophomore Hakeem Abubakar. “The weekly meetings… helped us become a team and working with the campaign has made us stronger as a whole.”

To kick off the campaign, SADD members surveyed ERHS students in January, asking them how often they use their seat belts while driving. In addition to this, the organization has hosted many lunch events throughout the school year, urging students to buckle up while driving.

“The biggest thing you’ve probably heard of is the mock car crash,” stated sophomore Enya Caballero, a SADD member. “They do it every year for the senior class, where they kind of show the effects of drinking, which is not a safe thing. Especially drinking and driving, and that can result in some disastrous consequences. They really do set up a mock car crash, and then it really kind of makes things seem so much more real once you see it.”

The program encourages creative competition between participating schools. From posters and brochures to painting rocks, the team works together to produce imaginative ways of promoting the cause.

“All around the year we do different things,” said Caballero. “Of course making ribbons is one of our signature things, we also have a lot of stickers and pamphlets people organize and we do paint a lot of rocks as kind of a way to just put it out there and make a cute little statement.”

When asked about the artwork, Abubakar said that “making [the artwork] is really my favorite part.”

In addition to preventing drunk driving, members of SADD hope to bring the team together and work on new issues in the upcoming school year. “We’re gonna do more mental health, and drunk driving and alcohol and how people should stop doing drugs. Also no smoking,” said Abubakar.