SADD hosts annual Grim Reaper Day
Presenting to his AP U.S. History class, junior Will Neely warns classmates about the consequences of substance abuse Oct. 19. Members of the Students Against Destructive Decisions club told similar stories throughout the day as a part of their “Grim Reaper Day.”
Twenty-six students were wearing plain black clothes to represent death with yellow tap cards Oct. 15.
Though these cards didn’t have to do with being accepted into a club, they had stories about people who experienced loss because of a choice they made. These students are a part of the Students Against Destructive Decisions club, participating in the Grim Reaper event.
Throughout the day, these students would stand up and go to the front of the classroom to read their designated stories.
“Our intention going into this project is we only give the truth so that everyone understands that this isn’t fiction that we are talking about,” senior and SADD club president Lena Diasti said. “These are people’s real lives. A lot of the stories were found online so they can have more detail, but again we want to acknowledge that the stories shared here are still mimicking a lot of the ones that are found within our daily lives in schools.”
Junior Henry McGonnigal was one of the students who participated in this event.
“I decided to do this event because people should actually begin to step up and show awareness instead of being afraid of showing what they care about,” McGonnigal said. “I do have a few friends who have struggled with suicide attempts so doing this really helped get the word out.”
Junior Lucy Morris, the event coordinator, worked alongside junior Bailey Floyd and senior Olivia Abdoney, creating this event to help students realize that their actions have significant consequences.
“Grim Reaper is centered around Homecoming and Halloween so that we can promote good decision-making while playing into the theme of Halloween with the Grim Reaper character,” Morris said.
Sophomore Hanna Chau was one of the individuals who participated in this event. Having a personal past with depression, Chau said she had a deeper connection to her story.
“I have also gone down the wrong road and hate seeing other people go down as well because of depression, so I tell my personal experiences with others, hoping to help them,” Chau said.