It Can Wait campaign comes to GSU

Governors State University, in conjunction with the widely publicized "It Can Wait" anti-texting campaign, held a presentation in the Hall of Governors on August 28 to draw attention to the new Illinois bill banning texting and driving. The bill was signed into law by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on August 16.
GSU President Elaine P. Maimon made opening statements addressing the increasing prevalence of texting and driving, which she was "happy to say, is now illegal," to the approving applause of the alumni, students, faculty, and staff in attendance.
Sam Balark, External Affairs Director for AT&T, introduced the "It Can Wait" campaign as a joint effort between AT&T and a supporting group of Illinois politicians, including Senator Mike Hastings, State Representative Bill Davis, and State Representative Anthony DeLuca, all of whom spoke in support of the recently passed bill.
Balark stressed that no matter how important a message might seem at the time safety is more important. "There is no text worth dying for," said Balark.
Hastings thanked AT&T for their financial contributions to GSU and the surrounding community and reminded those assembled that Bluetooth Technology would still be permissible after the law goes into effect on January 1 of next year.                                      Deluca of Illinois' 80th District, the state district GSU resides in, compared texting and driving to golf. The GSU alum, who represents the school which lies in the boundaries of the 80th district said like golf, texting and driving need to be a "self-policing sport", in which participants must apply penalties to themselves in the absence of referees.
"The police can't stop everybody", DeLuca said, emphasizing the importance of making a personal commitment to abandon texting while driving.
Davis, another graduate of GSU, also spoke in favor of "One Touch Driving" and Bluetooth technology. He equated his commute to Springfield every week as "three hours of fantastic talk time" that he can still count on, with the reality of hands-free cellular technology.
"Change is incremental," said Davis. "It is difficult to change the behavior that people have become accustomed to."
Richton Park Mayor Rick Reinbold thanked the participants of the "It Can Wait" program, and the political forces that pass common sense legislation like the one now in effect. He encouraged all those in attendance to sign up at AT&Ts "It Can Wait" website, and "take the pledge" against texting while driving, adding that for him, it is "extremely easy to take the pledge, because I don't know how to text."
Hazelcrest Village President Vernard Alsberry, also a GSU graduate, compared texting and driving to a time when people didn't wear seatbelts.
"Texting and driving is a learning curve," said Alsberry, indicating that in time, people would reflect on its dangers in the same context of not buckling up.
University Park Deputy Fire Chief Brian Shelley spoke about the increased number of accidents involving cell phone usage, backing the new bill as a big step community step towards safer lives. Shelley said it is "a great thing to see AT&T and Governors State... putting cell phones down to eliminate danger."
University Park's Chief of Police Darryll Stroud closed the presentation with an interesting demonstration indicating the decreased reaction time of drivers using cellular phones. He also encouraged students to look into other technological devices, such as ear pieces and Bluetooth technology, that are currently used by a small percentage of people.
Students, staff, faculty and alumnus are encouraged to log onto www.itcanwait.com and take the pledge to stop texting and driving, or dedicate their pledge via Facebook.