Ramsey High School Students Urge Residents To Take #itcanwait Pledge

A group of Ramsey High School students has teamed up with a local business to urge their peers to take a stand against texting while driving – and now they want to do the same for the entire Ramsey community.

RHS junior Tim Gregory started working on an anti-texting while driving campaign as part of his Marketing II class at the high school this semester. When he learned a group of sophomore Driver’s Ed students were working on a similar project, the two forces combined to grow the project into something they hope will have a bigger impact.

Friday, the group gave presentations to all Ramsey High School students, showing AT&T #itcanwait videos and citing chilling statistics.

According to statistics Gregory noted in his presentation, 11 teenagers die everyday in a texting while driving accident.

The videos the group showed featured families and teenagers whose lives have been impacted by texting while driving accidents. Many of those profiled in the video can also be seen in AT&T’s anti texting while driving commercials.

“It is such an easy thing to prevent,” Gregory told Patch of why he has become so passionate about this cause. “These statistics shouldn’t be happening.”

To get their classmates to feel the same, the group of students handed out individual anti-texting pledges, stickers that students can put on their car windows to remind them not to text and drive, and has asked everyone in school to sign a giant 'No Text On Board' Ramsey High School pledge poster, which will be hung up in the school’s hallways as a constant reminder.

Now, the group is working to reach out to the community. It is working with local AT&T shop Wireless World of Ramsey on E. Main Street, planning days in the upcoming months where students can donate time at the shop, urging customers and passersby to take the pledge.

And, the group is working with Driver’s Ed teacher Kelly Hasslinger to arrange to have a float in the borough’s annual Home for the Holidays parade.

“We are still in the planning stages, but we’d love to have a float about this and have pledges available for people to sign after the parade. It is really all about increasing awareness in the community,” Hasslinger said.

Everyone at the school is hoping the students’ message catches on.

“They’ve done an amazing job so far,” High School Principal Dr. Michael Thumm said Friday. “We are proud of them, and I’m anxious to see how they can push this further into the community.”

Take the pledge and join the #itcanwait movement here.

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