The idea for the “Remember…Campaign” was created after the death of sophomore Kameron Elliot in Sept. 2004. Elliot and other Arapahoe students were on Dry Creek Road during the Homecoming bonfire when the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into another car. Elliot was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown out of the vehicle. He died four days later.
After the incident, Arapahoe students and staff came up with the idea for a safe driving campaign. With the phrase, “Remember to buckle up and take care of one another,” the campaign encourages the student body to always follow simple driving safety procedures. This year, from Sept. 21 to Oct. 19, “Remember…Campaign” is working on the Teen Seatbelt Challenge.
“[Arapahoe High School] is competing against four other schools to not only have the highest percentage of the student body buckled up, but also to have great enthusiasm and support for the idea,” one of the “Remember…Campaign” presidents, Annika Erickson-Pearson, said. “[Kameron’s] death could have been prevented by one small act, and [we want] everyone to know that.”
AHS is competing against Heritage High School, Littleton High School and Grandview High School on the seatbelt challenge. The schools embraced the idea of the “Remember…Campaign” in memory of Elliot.
“It is important to buckle up because not wearing a seatbelt increases the chances of injury and death,” one of the “Remember…Campaign” presidents, senior Sara Markisohn, said. “This can be prevented by taking five seconds to wear a seatbelt.”
The “Remember…Campaign” will also sell informative bracelets for students. The bracelets have the word “Remember” embedded on them encouraging them to wear a seatbelt every time they are in the car.
“We’ll have tables at lunch every Thursday and Friday up through the week of Oct. 19 or until we run out of bracelets,” Erickson-Pearson said. “They are $1 each.”
Lauren Lee from the Language Arts department and Jeff Brandberg from the World Languages department are the teacher sponsors of the campaign. Assistant Principal Mary Gottlieb is involved in the campaign as well.
“[The teacher sponsors] basically supervise our ideas, especially the ones for the seatbelt challenge,” Markinsohn said. “They are very realistic and they have a different perspective than us.”
Students are also encouraged to join the campaign and come to the meetings Tuesday after school.
“ The number of members honestly depends on the week,” Erickson-Pearson said. “Over the past year, we’ve probably had 75 different students at meetings, but we try to be flexible because we know everyone has practices and rehearsals after school.”
This year is “Remember…Campaign’s” five year anniversary. After the tragic death of Elliot, the club has done its part to remind the students to always wear a seatbelt.
“It’s such a simple act that can and does seriously save lives,” Erickson-Pearson said.