The 22nd annual Grim Reaper Day haunted East Islip High School on March 28, led by the Students Against Destructive Decisions Club and adviser Bridget Lopiccolo. A student volunteer dressed in ghoulish attire wandered the classrooms, “striking” over a dozen chosen students who then spent the rest of the day in silence as a reminder of young lives lost to driving under the influence. During each strike, Lopiccolo described an actual police call to the class, listed statistics and told real stories of former students whose lives ended due to substance abuse.   

“I provide all of this so that students realize that this is not a game and they are not invincible,” Lopiccolo said. “This day is exhausting for me, both mentally and physically, as the SADD adviser, but it is well worth every bit of energy, because I cannot lose another student to this very preventable situation. I have promised parents that I will participate in the Grim Reaper program year after year. Students today do not drink and drive, but they do drive under the influence of marijuana and other drugs, and it needs to stop now.”

“People are dying from something that should be stopped, so I feel like this actually makes a difference and has an effect on students in the school,” said senior Sophia Parrillo, who played the Reaper this year.