Oak Park High School takes proactive stand on drunk driving

The dire consequences of risky behavior often extend far beyond those immediately involved. This was the main point that Brian Hunt and Michael Phillips, two advanced peer counselors at Oak Park High School, delivered in their emotional documentary "Life is Too Important."

The 20-minute film aims to stop students from drinking and driving by chronicling the devastation that enveloped the Ruhle family and their friends after their son, Christopher, was killed by a drunk driver.

Ruhle, an alumnus of Oak Park High School, was killed in February 1996. He was active in theater and football while in high school. Ruhle was a senior at the University of Arizona preparing for graduation and was engaged to Amy Hedrick, his girlfriend of two and a half years.

"He had this ability to make people laugh and smile," said Roger Ruhle, Chris' dad.

Ruhle's life was cut short while he was driving down a quiet suburban road with friends in San Luis Obispo. Another driver, traveling over 90 mph, drifted into Ruhle's lane and careened into his car. Two people in Ruhle's car were killed. The driver of the other vehicle survived. He had a 0.26 percent blood alcohol level at the scene and was later sentenced to 12 years in prison.

"It was the worst nightmare you could have ever had," Hedrick said. "Alcohol can absolutely destroy your life and the life of others."

Hunt and Phillips were inspired to make the film that chronicled the accident and its devastating effects after watching a drunk-driving presentation made by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The MADD presentation came off as nagging and was inundated with pop music and culture, two faults that prevented it from delivering a strong message, according to the two teenage students.

"People aren't responsive when you stand on a pedestal and try to tell people what to do and how to act," Phillips said.

Instead of focusing on lights and sounds and preaching, the students realized that the real story of Ruhle and his family would deliver a much more potent message.

The film was screened for all of Oak Park High School's students, and parents who wanted to see it. All of the presentations included an open discussion among advanced peer counselors and students about the dangers of drunk driving, how to deal with peer pressure situations with which it is associated, and what to do if a friend attempts to drive while drunk.

"Even the though the film seemed to go over the heads of some of the ninth grade students, a lot of the students were very receptive to its message," Hunt and Phillips agreed. "After making the film, we now know that we can ruin many people's lives by driving while drunk."

The screening gave parents an opportunity to discuss how to prevent their children from becoming involved in a drunk-driving incident. One parent said she purchased a Yellow Cab credit card for her son to help keep him from driving if he ever did get intoxicated.

"It's important for parents to (have a) dialogue about these issues with their children starting at a young age," said Tess Wilkoff, a counselor at Oak Park High School.

Roger Ruhle advises teenage drivers to always wear seat belts, stay off the road late at night and to be defensive drivers.

"Everyone knows that drinking and driving is bad, but they still do

(it), and now we're hoping that a personal story brings it home," Hunt said.

Not content with delivering a powerful message, the parents of Oak Park seniors took a proactive stance to prevent drunk driving after graduation.

Immediately following the ceremony, graduates were whisked away on tour buses to the 10th annual Oak Park High School Grad Nite.

"It has become a tradition at Oak Park High School to provide a safe, fun and sober environment for our seniors to celebrate directly after their graduation ceremony," said Sandy Pedeflous, chairperson for this year's 2006 Oak Park High School Grad Nite.

The tradition started when parents decided to throw a party to prevent rambunctious graduates from indulging in alcohol and possibly hurting themselves and others. Past graduates have been taken to locales such as the Magic Castle, Paramount Studios, the Museum of Flying, the Sony Atrium and Dave and Busters.

This year's event was a harbor cruise that included inflatable obstacle courses, laser tag, karaoke, a hypnotist, an arcade and a disc jockey.

Bobbi Weisman, the parent of a graduate, provided the food which included Mexican and Italian cuisine, sushi, an ice cream and dessert bar and two chocolate fountains.

Students arrive at the event at 11:15 p.m. and the fun lasts until 4:30 in the morning.

The event costs a total of $50,000 to $60,000 and is subsidized by fundraisers and ticket sales. Fundraisers are conducted throughout the year and include the Christmas tree pick-up, 50/50

raffles at football games, car washes and jewelry parties and a multitude of other events. Tickets cost $95 this year and were provided to those who couldn't cover the cost.

"No student is left out of the event," Pedeflous said. "From everyone I have talked to, the word out there is that it was a huge success in that they had a great time, it was a beautiful memory for them to always have and that it was drug and alcohol free."