Campus News
Westminster Students Coordinate Anti-Texting Campaign
“Drive Now, Text Later” hopes to discourage campus community from texting while driving
 SALT LAKE CITY –Students at Westminster College are serious about driving safety – so serious they hope their anti-texting campaign will challenge other schools to follow suit. As part of the new “Drive Now, Text Later” movement, students in the Public Health Activities Team (P^HAT) are encouraging the Westminster community to sign a pledge promising they will refrain from texting while driving.
“We are working to get as many students, faculty and staff to sign the pledge,” explained Hilary Makris, vice president of P^HAT. “We hope our efforts will be so successful that we can challenge other schools to conduct similar campaigns.”
At 6 p.m. on September 21, students will host a barbecue with live music in the Richer Commons. KUTV Channel 2 will broadcast live during their “No Text Zone” to help promote the cause. On September 19 and 20, there will be tables in the Richer Commons where members of the campus community can sign the pledge.
“Texting while driving is a behavior that can change many people's lives in one moment,” added Makris. “I personally have to remind myself to text later, which is funny because all the things that seemed so important at that moment I usually can’t remember later. I am also a big fan of Oprah who inspired me to create this campaign.”
Makris wrote a research paper on texting while driving last fall that included statistics on young drivers. She discovered drivers aged 15 to 20 have the highest rate of fatal crashes in the country, which was 59.5 per 100,000 licensed drivers.
“As you can see, this is the typical age for college students,” she said. “High schools are taking the pledge, and I think that we need to do the same thing. I also believe we need to include all ages in this pledge because we need to change this bad habit in all drivers.”
For more information on the “Drive Now, Text Later” campaign and events, contact Hillary Makris at ham0802@westminstercollege.edu.
Media Contacts: Krista DeAngelis & Arikka Von (801) 832-2682
Sept. 14, 2011
About Westminster:
Westminster is a nationally recognized, comprehensive liberal arts college. With a broad array of graduate and undergraduate programs, Westminster is distinguished by its unique environment for learning. Westminster prepares students for success through active and engaged learning, real world experiences and its vibrant campus community. Westminster’s unique location, adjacent to the Rocky Mountains and to the dynamic city of Salt Lake, further enriches the college experience. For more information, visit http://www.westminstercollege.edu or follow WestminsterSLC on Twitter.
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