The high school prom is a time for making lasting memories. But an alcohol-related crash can shatter those memories forever.

Student government officers at Tamaqua Area High School are using their leadership positions to encourage peers to be responsible on prom night this Saturday. They’ve spent the week promoting the “prom promise” to not drink and drive.

“Knowing somebody got hurt on the night of prom is not a memory I want to have. I want to remember the dancing, the fun we had,” said Callista Fannock, a senior and vice president of Tamaqua Area Student Government Association.

Students couldn’t walk into the school this week without a reminder of the costs of drinking and driving. A demolished car sits outside the front door with the message, “This could be you. Don’t drink and drive.”

The student leaders have spent the week creating other reminders for their classmates. They tied red ribbons to cars with the message to not get in a car with a drunk driver. They held an assembly for seniors where the school’s police officers shared their experience responding to alcohol-related crashes.

They painted students’ faces like the Grim Reaper for a “die in.” The number of students chosen to have their faces painted represented a real statistic - alcohol-related crashes claim an average of 28 people per day across the country - which equals one every 52 minutes.

“Everybody sees that and realizes ‘that could be me, that could be my friend or my loved one,’” said Stephen Ulicny, adviser for Tamaqua Area Student Government Association.

The student government members know that as leaders they can have an impact on their classmates. Student government president Grace Stegemerten takes her leadership position seriously because she looked up to the officers when she was an underclassman.

“I get to know all these kids. I really do care about everybody,” she said.

The prom promise week also draws on support from the community. The school police officers helped the students put together the assembly on the dangers of drunk driving. Hope’s Collision and Towing donates the demolished car every year. Our Family Mini Market donates gas cards for students who sign the prom promise - a large cardboard key.

Prom promise has been happening in schools across the country since 1990. Ulicny has been overseeing the prom promise week at Tamaqua for two decades. He said it remains an important tool for ensuring that the prom is memorable for the right reasons.

“Even if only a handful of kids get this message, but that handful makes the right decision, then it’s worth it,” he said.