Project 2003 Graduation: A night to left their hair down
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The all-night party may not have had the most fun-sounding events, but when you’ve just graduated from high school, almost anything is a laugh riot. That includes getting pounded with a giant boxing glove.
Stacey Parkhurst sure knows the feeling after stepping into the ring with Chris Marlowe. Stacey may have been on the receiving end of a few shots to the head, but it didn’t dampen her spirits in referring to Chris as “The Glutton.”
“I call him ‘The Glutton’ because he’s a glutton for punishment,” said Stacey, who may have been the class salutatorian but she sure didn’t see things clearly from inside the ring. She could have been a mop the way Chris used her to clean the floor.
Afterwards, Chris took some ribbing for beating up a girl, but he defended his actions. “I tried to tell her no, but she kept calling me out,” said Chris. “What was I supposed to do?”
At the new city pool, it was the same sort of scenario. The diving boards and water slides were too much to resist, but my, oh my, how the water was chilly.
“I didn’t think the water was as cold as it was until I jumped in,” said Lacey Griffith, who graduated with her brother, Lucas, and sister, Lindsey.
With three kids graduating, Dawn Griffith was the natural choice to coordinate Project Graduation. She says the night was an overwhelming success with a total of 497 students registering – including 286 seniors.
“Between the go-carts out front and the new pool, there was never a lull,” said Dawn. “The night went so fast.”
The go-carts were a first-time Project Graduation feature and came courtesy of Nathan Smith, who did a good deal of legwork to make it happen. The activity was intended to illustrate how alcohol influences decision making behind the wheel.
Students first made a go-cart lap on their own. They then put on special goggles which were said to give the impression of what it feels like when your blood-alcohol level is .08 – the level the state considers drunk.