BREA : A Sobering Reminder for Students

Jessica Stoddard walked around campus Friday, expressionless and dressed in black clothing.

On closer look, the 16-year-old’s face was painted white. And she wore a sign around her neck stating she had killed herself and two friends in an accident she caused by driving while intoxicated.

This was Brea-Olinda High School’s “Day of the Dead,” in which Stoddard and 23 classmates went about their daily routines without talking to anyone until noon, after they were memorialized in a mock funeral.

“I think this is a really good way to get people to realize that their friends could die if they drive drunk or abuse drugs,” Stoddard said.

About 20 students gathered around in the grassy area near the cafeteria to watch the staged funeral proceedings, which were the highlight of the school’s Red Ribbon Week activities.

“We are here today to pay our respects to our loved ones--friends, classmates, boyfriends and girlfriends,” said Bob Bryant, 17, who presided over the ceremony. “We must now move on in our lives. . . . We shall not make the same mistakes they made. Drug use is life abuse.”

Those who “died” played the roles of victims or culprits in drug- or alcohol-related accidents. Other causes of death included steroid overdoses, AIDS from sharing hypodermic needles and cocaine abuse.

“So many students think it won’t happen to them or their friends--that they’re indestructible,” said Kristin Short, 17. “But it can happen and it does.”

For Josh Paquette, however, the message didn’t sink in.

Paquette, 18, and several others poked fun at the “victims,” refusing to believe that it could happen to them.

“It was silly,” the senior said about the event. “It won’t happen to me or my friends.”

Other students said the act was not dramatic enough to make them behave differently.

“I’m not going to go out and tell my friends not to do drugs,” said Rosanna Valenzuela, 17. The “dead” students are still alive, she said.

Her friend, Tomasita Contreras, agreed, adding: “When it happens for real, that’s when you start to think.”

A few students did take the act seriously, partly because it was performed in the wake of an actual accident. Tobias Norton, 18, of Brea died early last Saturday when a car driven by 19-year-old Gilbert Nunez of Fullerton careened off the side of a Fullerton road. Police believe Nunez was driving under the influence of alcohol.

“I didn’t realize how many people could actually die from drug abuse or drunk driving,” said Blythe Heagle, 17. She said the act and Norton’s death evoked fear.

“It was a good message,” said Tim Polucha, 15. The 24 students “really tried hard to get us to not do drugs.”

Teresa Jewelinski, 17, who participated in the act, was disappointed at how few paid attention.

“It’s too bad more people didn’t take (the performance) seriously,” she said.