More than 750 Duval County high school students, from 19 public and nine private schools, participated in the third annual Stop Teen Underage Drinking “STUD” Rally on Thursday, March 20, at the Morocco Shrine Auditorium.
The rally, which addressed issues that teens face on a daily basis about underage drinking and making healthy choices, was sponsored by the Jacksonville Automobile Dealers Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, Publix Super Markets, LongHorn Steakhouse, First Coast News and Duval County Public Schools (DCPS).
"The purpose of this event is to help students say no to drugs, alcohol and drunk driving, and to encourage them to make positive choices," said Kathleen Bowles, supervisor of safe and healthy schools at DCPS. "We also want our students to help others make good choices so that we can all be healthy and safe citizens of Duval County."
During the rally, community leaders, Sheriff John Rutherford, DCPS Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals and First Coast News Sports Director Dan Hicken encouraged students to make positive life decisions and to really think about the consequences of their actions.
Students also heard testimonies from individuals directly affected by alcohol-related accidents, such as: Mistie Merritt, a young woman who is facing up to 12 years in prison for killing a woman in 2006 as a result of drunk driving; Homicide Detective John Hinton, whose 24-year-old daughter was killed three years ago by a drunk driver – a drunk driver who only 12 days earlier had been arrested for a DUI; and college student Ashley Cooper, a former lifeguard who is now in a wheelchair due to an underage drunk driving incident.
Students then went outside for a re-enactment, during which the Jacksonville Fire Rescue, Sheriff's Office, Florida Highway Patrol and Shands Jacksonville Trauma One Unit recreated the scene of a drunk driving accident. Fire trucks, police patrol cars, ambulances and a helicopter were all on-scene to demonstrate the negative consequences of drunk driving.
Officials from the Florida Highway Patrol, State Attorney's Office, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and a Trauma One doctor from Shands also spoke to students about the legal, financial and medical effects of drunk driving.
In addition to the sponsors, many other organizations and individuals contributed toward the rally, including: All-American Specialty, Regency Square Mall, Moe's Southwest Grill, Starbucks at Queens Harbor, Calvin Klein at Belk Regency, Peterbrooke Chocolatier, 93.3 The Beat, 97.9 Kiss FM, Dunkin Donuts, AT&T wireless, John Robert Powers Modeling and Acting, members of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Gateway Comm., the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco, the National Guard, and R&B artist and Jacksonville native Asia Cruise.
Sandalwood High School's leadership team was also on hand to assist during the rally.
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