PRESS RELEASE
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS
AUGUST 16, 2013
CONTACT: Jeff Pitchford, vice president for university and government relations, at jeffp@uca.edu or (501) 450-3185.
Fredricka Sharkey, associate director for media relations, at fsharkey@uca.edu or (501) 450 -5114.
UCA President Tom Courtway takes stand on texting and driving
CONWAY—President Tom Courtway plans to address freshman students on Monday, August 19 at 9 a.m. in Reynolds Performance Hall about the dangers of texting and driving.
“This is an epidemic, not only for teenagers but for all ages,” said Courtway. “If a 15-minute lecture can save a life or keep a student out of a hospital bed, then it’s well worth it.”
Cpl. Alvernon Rogers and Sgt. Siegfried Lewis, both from the Arkansas State Police, will also make presentations to the students, along with Angela “The Communicator” Hines from Textface, an organization that exposes texting drivers using the World Wide Web and social media platforms. Members of the UCA Police Department will also be on hand.
“I thought it was important to have Arkansas State Police there to talk about this,” Courtway said. “It is not very often that you get 1500 to 2000 students in a room and have the ability to talk them about anything that is as important as texting and driving.”
The students are meeting as part of Welcome Week activities that begin with Move In Day on Sunday, August 18. During this session, the students also will view a news story from an edition of Good Morning America that highlights a program in the state of New York used to catch texting drivers.
“It is hard to stay in school when you are in a hospital bed or in a cemetery,” Courtway said.
Courtway and others will be available for interviews after the presentation.
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