On March 24, the Cal High student body was informed of the tragic deaths of eight peers over the weekend.

Many were hit by drunk drivers, although one was killed by a driver who was under the influence of marijuana, and one was struck by an individual who was texting while driving.

So it’s easy to imagine the surprise that reverberated throughout the Event Center when the deceased students showed up at their own memorial service on Tuesday, pushing their own coffin.

This wasn’t some sort of cruel prank played on administrators. Rather, it was a school-sanctioned event called  Every 15 Minutes that was designed to demonstrate the risks of drunk driving.

While the event was technically well executed, we believe several aspects of Every 15 Minutes was done in poor taste.

The intentions of this program are noble indeed, but unfortunately they were outweighed by outright weirdness of the way they were presented. Acting like a group of students has died is not something to be held lightly, and having a fake funeral for them, even more so.

Unfortunately, it is commonly known that students do not take programs like these as seriously as they should. Initiatives such as Words Matter and the rally held by Teen Esteem are examples of this.

Now more than ever it is evident that high school is not the ideal time to introduce  concepts such as drinking and driving.

If administrators want these programs to be effective, it is imperative that they are done at lower grade levels. By the time students reach high school age, they have already made these decisions and, sadly, these programs are a moot point.