Friends students lead change in speed limit near school
HARRISON – Eighth-grade students in a civics class at Friends School Mullica Hill got a real-life lesson in effecting change by being proactive.
The students, concerned by fast-moving cars along High Street in front of their school, asked township officials to cut the speed limit.
Harrison Township Mayor Lou Manzo delivered the good news Tuesday morning, explaining an ordinance passed Monday night lowering the speed limit from 35 mph to 25 mph.
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Signs will be put up near the school within the next two weeks declaring it a school zone with a posted speed limit of 25 when children are present.
Manzo made a presentation in front of a group of students from Brad Gibson’s eighth-grade civics class and read from a letter he wrote to the students. Each one received their own copy.
In part he read, “One person, regardless of age, can make a difference in the community. A classroom discussion in Mullica Hill changed the law. If you can do that, just imagine what you’re capable of doing in the future; you can change the world.”
The students gave him a warm applause.
“We always thought it was not as fair that our school didn’t have the same speed limit as other schools, so we thought it was something that we had to change,” said eighth-grade student Caroline Moser. “As a class, we spoke up about it. It feels pretty cool to know that we are the reason that it changed.”
Manzo said because Friends is a private school, the school-zone limits don’t necessarily apply as they do for public schools.
“The strange thing is because it’s a private school, it’s not something that typically is done, whereas a public school, it’s automatic, 25 miles an hour when children are present, which I guess it wasn’t in the consciousness even in the town,” the mayor explained. “When the kids brought it up, it didn’t take long. We discussed it and we were like ‘OK, this warrants making a change from a safety perspective.'"
Manzo visited Gibson’s class about six weeks ago. It’s the third straight year Gibson and Head of School Beth Reaves have invited him to discuss local government. Gibson sends him questions in advance that the students come up with. One brought up the topic of the lack of a school zone speed limit.
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“We were just wondering why we didn’t have a school zone speed limit,” said Gibson, a 2003 Friends School Mullica Hill graduate. “It just says 35 and she noticed that most of the schools have a school zone speed limit. He told us to pursue it. We did. We looked up what the local laws are for speed limits around schools and what other ordinances say. We put that in a request we gave to the mayor.”
The mayor then brought it up at township council meetings and after a speed study was done, they drafted an ordinance. The change had a first reading on April 18 and went to public hearing on Tuesday night, when council passed it.
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“We started to bring it up in class,” eighth-grader Emily Rowe said of the speed limit concerns. “I guess it was more of an idea until the mayor came in and then it started to become something that was more real and that could actually happen. Then once the speed study came up and now it’s actually here … like Caroline said, it’s because of us. That just feels cool.”
Reaves was thrilled to see the Friends School students take positive action to effect change.
“It is so exciting,” she said. “I think that the message that the mayor shared about these students understanding their ability to change the world is just what we dream for, for our students. For them to see that they can make an impact, no matter how young they are. As they grow older, I hope they take that lesson with them.”
Celeste E. Whittaker; (856) 486-2437; cwhittaker@gannettnj.com