She might have been mistaken for another Memorial Union solicitor, but Jessica Pearson wasn’t trying to sell anything to ASU students this Labor Day weekend.

On the sheets of papers she handed to passers-by was a tribute to the California resident’s brother, Henry Pearson, an ASU graduate and victim of a drunk-driving accident.

The timing of Pearson’s trip to ASU was no coincidence. A three-day weekend is a time for college students to unwind ­—­­­ sometimes carelessly.

A statewide Labor Day DUI task force made more than 1,000 arrests between Aug. 21 and Monday, at least 96 of which were underage, according to The Associated Press. The targeted task force ended late Monday night. Tempe Police did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.

ASU Police Cmdr. Jim Hardina said ASU’s officers focused more on residential halls than DUI enforcement.

“During any major holiday weekend you’re going to have people driving under the influence,” he said. “A lot of the police enforcement is through advertising that the police are out there, which will hopefully educate in addition to enforcing.”

On campus, Pearson said her goal was to remind college students to be mindful of their actions and surroundings.

“You have to be smart,” Pearson said. “Before you go out drinking, you make plans. Henry and his friends were always good about that. That’s part of what makes [his death] so hard.”

Beyond honoring her brother’s memory, Pearson said she wants people to be aware of the tragic way he died.

“I want people to feel connected to him and to the crash,” Pearson said, “but I also want to make them realize that this can happen to anyone.”

Henry Pearson graduated from ASU with honors in 2006 after earning a degree in communications. He was a second-year law student at Western State University in Fullerton, Calif., when he was killed.

The pictures on Pearson’s fliers look as if they’ve been lifted straight from Henry’s Facebook page: he makes peace signs, slings his arm around friends and dresses up for a night out.

Pearson said these pictures help students identify with her brother.

“He was fun, outgoing, spontaneous, but at the same time a hard worker,” Pearson said. “Both sides were there so strongly.”

When she talks about her brother, Pearson emphasizes how much he cared for his friends.

The night he died, Henry Pearson was watching his friend Nick Adenhart pitch for the Los Angeles Angels. Adenhart also died in the accident.
“Henry was out that night supporting Nick,” she said. “He wouldn’t have wanted to do anything else that day.”

Pearson said she decided to come to ASU because of Henry’s strong connection to the University.

“Henry always loved Arizona State. He loved being a Sun Devil. He always talked about his time here,” Pearson said. “Walking on Palm Walk, going to games, working on Devils on the Deuce...

“This is my way of bringing him back to a place he loved so much,” she said.

Political science sophomore Sarah Aagard said Pearson is using a tragic experience to help spread important safety awareness.

“She’s helping people to remember her brother as he was, but at the same time she’s reminding people to be responsible,” Aagard said.

“Henry was a true Sun Devil,” Pearson said. “I know that now he would be saying, ‘Tell my story, let people hear it.’”

Reach the reporter at jessica.testa@asu.edu.