Drinking dangers brought to the attention of students during awareness week

GCSU recently held Alcohol Awareness Week, during which social activities, speeches and performances aimed to educate students about alcohol. The Oct. 5-8 event was brought together through the efforts of a committee led by Chris Lamphere, the head counselor for alcohol and drug education.

“The plans for alcohol awareness week commenced in May of last year with the formation of a committee,” Lamphere said. “We try to build the committee with a variety of people on campus.”

Oct. 8 was one of the most eventful days of Alcohol Awareness Week. There was a dunking booth where Public Safety volunteers gave up their time to sit in the booth while students attempted to send them crashing down into the pool of water. Students could pay $1 to try to dunk an officer of their choice. If they succeeded on their first throw, they received $30 off any previous parking tickets. If they succeeded in dunking the officer on the second throw they received $20 off a ticket and $10 off for succeeding on the third throw.

“Some of these kids get a kick out of getting to dunk the officers that gave them a ticket,” Patrol Sgt. Hal Ennis said.

Students also had the opportunity to drive a golf cart on Front Campus while wearing vision-impairment goggles and could choose between wearing daytime or night-time goggles. The activity was a favorite of many, including freshman education major Julie Esssenwein.

“It was really interesting. I had a very distorted view of where everything actually was,” Essenwein said.

Each golf cart was supervised for the students’ safety, and each student was required to sign a waver whether they were driving or riding in the golf cart.

“All of us working here are part of Peers Advocating Wellness Successfully, and we are nationally certified to run these events and supervise things such as the golf carts,” Britton Tuck, a member of P.A.W.S., said.

There were also several main attractions set up for students to observe. Mark the Magic Man set up a table on Front Campus to entertain students passing by on their way to class. There was also a car donated by Public Safety sitting on the lawn that had been in an actual crash as a result of driving under the influence.

“It served as a reminder of what could possibly happen if you make the wrong decisions,” Essenwein said.

There was even a staged funeral scene with a coffin and chairs circled around it to symbolize the gathering of the loved ones and their loss after an unfortunate event caused by the abuse of alcohol.

Alcohol Awareness Week was financed through sponsors including University Housing, Greg Brown’s Parking Transportation Services, Student Health Services and the Wellness Depot. The dunking booth was borrowed from Baldwin County High School and the coffin was donated by Moore’s Funeral Home.

A bowling event called “Knock-out DUI” was also held at Baldwin Bowling Center, with the first 150 students entering with a valid Bobcat card allowed in and given shoes for free, as well as pizza and a drink. If students did not want to go bowling another option was to attend “All that Rave,” a free dance party in the MSU Lounge that lasted until the early morning hours.

In the past, these activities had typically received the highest level of participation and attendance. However, this year’s attendance was not as high as previous years. The week was scheduled during the time of midterm exams and during fall break, causing a decrease in numbers.

“The events during (Alcohol Awareness Week) not only impact those who use alcohol, but also those who do not use it,” Lamphere said.

Another of the many events held during the week included a speech given by Eric Krug, which was an eye-opening experience for many students. Krug was an student-athlete with a full scholarship to Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. However his life was drastically changed when he made the decision to get in a vehicle with an intoxicated friend.

In addition, two other speaking engagements were held – “Times Talk” and “Binge Drinking.” Free pizza was provided to those who attended. Also, “Ferris Buller’s Day off” was shown Wednesday night in the courtyard between Foundation and Parkhurst.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 23 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry