Students face Reality Check

A mock drunk driving fatality will play out in front of the Kerr-Drummond Mezzanine on Thursday.

Reality Check is a free program to teach students about the dangers of drinking and driving, said Sharayah Carpenter, president of OSU Sociology Club. Students began the program in 2000 and continue to run the program with support from OSU and the community.

According to the 2004 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 4,666 people ages 16 to 24 died in alcohol-related traffic accidents that year.

“Cowboy Towing comes in and places a couple cars in a crash position,” said Officer Rick Balfanz, OSU Police Department. “We have actors with make-up that have various levels of injury from none to dead.”

Residential Life sponsors the program and provides an adviser, Carpenter said.
The pre-party starts at 7 p.m. in the mezzanine with food, drinks and music, Carpenter said. After a 9-1-1 tape is played and all the bystanders go outside, actors in bloody make-up bring the scene to life.

The actors stumble around the crash site, trying to make sure their friends are OK, she said. Officer Balfanz is the first to show up and Stillwater Fire Department follows afterward. Finally, Strode Funeral Home comes in and takes the body away.

After the body is taken away, Sgt. Kevin Parton from the Oklahoma City Police Department will speak to students about drinking and driving, Carpenter said.

“It’s kind of a public education,” said Trent Hawkins, Stillwater Fire Department fire marshal, during a phone interview. “At the same time, the guys get training on extrication.”

The Stillwater Fire Department sends in a battalion chief, a rescue truck and an ambulance during the event, Hawkins said. Even though they demonstrate what it takes to remove someone from a car, during the event rescue workers remove actors from the car before hand to ensure safety.

“It is a very emotional and trying scene to watch, so OSU Counseling Services makes sure there are counselors available through the whole event,” Carpenter said.