1997_10 Insight October 1997

              Oct 22.1997
VIEWPOINT & NEWS
Sobering lessons from
alcohol awareness week
by Ezra Oanchi
Haa aa H
Robert it an alcoholic _,
Now a Fresno State graduate student, he had his first
drink when he wa* 13 II was a bottle of Coors he stole
from his room's refrigerator He didn't think much of
il — all hi* friends were doing it
Soon afterward. Robert, who preferred his last name
remain anonymous, began swiping bourbon or scotch
from his uncle's liquor cabinet Sometimes he would
get hi* friend's older sister to buy for him He would
take anything he could get his hands on. often wine or
brandy, and mi* il in a Mason jar to drink
Robert just liked the way alcohol made him feel But
his drinking soon started getting him in trouble Injun
tor high, he went to a dance drunk and vomited all over
the auditorium The police took him home
Out of high school. Robert joined the Army While
he was on leave, drinking with some friends, he ran a
red light and hit another car The police decided to lei
Robert's commanding officer pursue the issue
His only punishment was restriction to the barracks
for three months while he repaid the person he hit
In 1983. Robert was drunk when he had unprotected
sex. and he contracted AIDS
Monday marked the start of National Collegiate Al
cohol Awareness Week, which seeks to highlight binge
drinking s disastrous and often irreversible circum
stances, such as those suffered by Robert
Organizers said binge drinkers are characterized by
consuming several drinks at one sitting — five dnnks
for men, four for women A 1993 Harvard School of
Public Health study found 28 percent of college stu
dents binge drink within an average two week period
Several campus groups are collaborating to raise
awareness of the role alcohol plays in student lives
This year. Alcohol Awareness Week will emphasi/e
how binge drinking affects people besides the dnnker
"Alcohol abuse is often a factor in health issue*
said health educator Sam Gitchel. who acts as faculty
adviser to Alcohol Awareness Week co sponsor Re
sponsible Initiators for Se* Education | RISI   |
"Injuries, [sexually transmitted diseases,! unintended
pregnancies, and sexual assault are often linked with
alcohol abuse Alcohol is involved tn many of the prob
terns counselors deal with," Gitchel said
RISF plan* to have t booth set up by the southwest
corner of the I'niversiry Student I MM fUSV) through
out the week The group will he sponvmng * new ver
sion of the "Spin the Bottle  game
In the new form, student volunteers spin a bottle on
a table, and when the bottle comes to rest, it point* to a
category Then a RISE member asks the volunteer a
question dealing with alcohol and sexuality
Students can win prize* such at condoms, bookmarks
and candy RISE will also provide information pack
els and statistics on alcohol and sex
I St program advisor staffer Kelly Stevens played
a pivotal role in organizing the week's events She says
she can see how binge drinking leads to problems ft
eryday
"Binge drinking can cause problems that seem in
significant al the time." Stevens said "It causes students to mis* classes and get into-fights with their
friends This can he devastating in the long run "
T.J Zmucki, resident life coordinator for f-resno
State* residence hall*, has also been involved in orga
/firing the week* events
Zmucki has set up a "community wall in the Re*i
dence Hall Atnum and rhe Free Speech Area Here,
students write on paper bricks on how alcohol ha* ef-
fected them, directRor mdirr
He is al*o sponsoring  midnight milk and cookies"
w W aBemati ve to drinking during the a
Residence hall students can watch a video documen
tary on college binge drinking called "Sober Reflec
lions." and free refreshment* are provided.
Otfier et*ant ecnvibes
Throughout the week, a "crash car" will he on di*
play outside the USC Sam Vasquez. coordinator of
the Today's Issues arm of USU ProdOctton*. got the
crash car idea from his high school year*.
"A girl from another school wa* killed by a drunk
driver." Vasque/ said The car was taken to different
schools to remind students of the dangers of drinking
and driving I didn't know the girt that was killed, but
•eemg this car wa* very powerful "
Today's Issue members plan to low the crash car with
a "National Collegiate Awareness Week" sign in
Saturday's homecoming parade
Next to the display, members of Mothers Against
Drunk Driving, campus police and other groups will
be handing out informational brochures
As for Robert, he has stayed clean for about 12 years
He knows that his immune system grow,* weak when
he has alcohol in the bloodstream
If I was guing Io survive I knew I would have to
change my ways." Robert said "It was simply a choice
between living and dying "
Robert* descent into alcoholism manifested itself
in much ihe same way it ha* for others What began as
curiosity and experimentation led to a need for acceptance from ht* peer*
Eventually, Robert was turning to alcohol to cope
with a world he often found cruel
Mv family never did anything together Robert
said "When you're not exposed to new and exciting
experiences, you begin to create alternatives for yourself My alternative was getting drunk "
A second Fretno State eaee
Another Fresno State student, a sophomore who requested complete anonymity, recently went to his first
party of the year He was participating in an infamous
drinking game, and the cards weren't going hi* way
Id had about 12. 13 shots of Bicardi [151 proof
rum | and I guess I blacked out." the sophomore said
The next (hing I remember i* being carried down the
stairs of the residence halls  Then I woke up in the
"What really scared me wa* that when I woke up in
the hospital. I didn't know where I wa* cr anything. I
looked over and there wa* this kid next to me who
looked like he had got in a car accident or something,
he said
He later found out the patieni next to him that night
was Malcolm Boyd
the first time I ever really went over the
edijte[clrinking|.''hesaid I snails when Idnnk. I know
when I'm slopping ffut the main point ol a drinking
game I )u*t have to keep on tf
otit ( ommon sense sN ml
The anonv mous student agrees that peer pressure can
lead to hinge drinking He explained thai in Ihe game
he played. But low person ea the totem pole can he
ordered to drink by any other player - which led to
hit I Wing *o many drink* within a few minute*
"It |other pl*ver*| ask you if yoti want anything to
drink, you're chugging." he tatd. "Some people are
like. I want to he accepted I don't want these people
lo Ihink I ■ totally stupid     hv leasing the game
I think the worst part ol it wa* coming hack here
(to Bat rettdence hall*| Everybody knew what happened Alcohol can realty me** you up I lost respect
I lost mv |ob," he xatd
He said he also lost about MOO half of which paid
for the ambulance trip to the hospital, and the rest for
FACULTY: President
defends part-time teachers
CorBarawd frorn page 1
"One of the things we're really con
cenwd about i* the overuse of cheap
labor," Kessler said
t'niversKy president John Welty
however, said students and faculty
need not w
me of part-'
"There i* absolutely no intent to
prune out tenure." Wehy *aid "What
we're trying to accomplish t* to have
*of the fu
Aad the fWerc reveal* thai 30 per
fen a significant decrease m enrol
"We II need to replace flto rearing
faculty | and the challenge a to attract
aew faculty who haw the ability to
do Bat tame outstanding job" as cur
rent faculty. Welt* said
He also pointed to Fresno State «
declining enrolment a* a reason for
the high awabet of pan time faculty
He tatd student enrollment i* pro
acted to me m (he ne»t few years
Michael Ortiz acting provtw and
vice president of academic affair*.
tatd Baa part time faculty are a tu
be *a*d
Orti/ said a university pott* v man
dates al least BO percent of every
department'* texttry must he full time
tenured profe**ors, with 20 percent
part lime faculty He said that ctasse*
with low enrollment can he readily cut
if taught by a pan timer
Some argue that since pan timer*
often don I know how many classes
they will have until the wwk before
*chool. wwnrtime* they fear for their
"What people warn i* rmire job *e
canty." tatd Gunner Valgeirsson a
full time lecturer for six year*
He tatd infractor effr. tiveness
would al*o fat! if the trend t, t»ntiniir\
He said job tecuniy i« the key to ef
ulty when mere t* very Imkr job te
curdy,"Vataetrsstmtatd "lt.nake.it
rwrdavtodoaWlhUxgyoawariitodo
aatheffetiivery"
Ha ttuo anutad Baa tt gtetweeet aw '
Saw Cooke. * unu
ie* major, said she warned to hear
lacksoa't optmon about Proposition
209. the referendum lading govern
ment affirmative actum which veaer*
approved tn I90f>
She said shr would like to be more
at ti ve W itppottog Pnap MB
"IwaNtoknrmhMopUwoaofwhai
raWhwryaeeaaeeea dn," Cooke tatd
KFSR can't get a break,
even at campus eateries
by Mick WhTigeft
t. Fresno State ha*
Believe it or
a radio nation
For the bw 15- year*. KFSR radio
a 90 7 FM hw been the votce and
sound of Fresno Stake student life
There aren't many placet on cam
pw Bat stay the station tn all. how
ever The one place on campus where
students can count on hearing KFSR
is in the Pub. during a six .hour window while the station is playmg jazz
Why is this •
Don't university affiliated bu*i
nesses such as Carl's Jr, the Inner
sity Student Union tl'Sl't and the
Pub. have obligations to promote stu
dent interests1 Call me cra/v but l
think that these businesses are mor
ally obliged to promote things like
KFSR that make the student expert
ence unique
Currentky, when you walk into busi
nesses, then i* nothing that indicate*
you're on a college campus The
Carl s Jr could be located anywhere
in the country
With its uniform menu aad fabricated ambiance, it i* just another fast
food joint that caters to I-very man
rather than to the unique interests of
the students that keep it in business
Deborah Guill. the senior food *ei
vices manager, explained the music
stations chosen ftxr Cart * Jr. the Pub
and the University Restaurant are
made with the consumers tn mind
"I put on [radio station* 1 that ev
eryhody can listen to.' she said
"When I play stations thai have a particular appeal. Tget too nwajr ewaaaw
from my patron* and staff "
Guill *aid that she chooses Star 101
(KVSRFM)fe
listen to it "But Carl sJr i
eater to "everyone   It* very location        It even has a call-at show that spe
on campus translates to a specialized    cificaity appeal* to itadentt. Waring
clientele, one thai i* unique in tastes    with advising tpnetiaat
and appeal These thaws, ran by satdaat Dels.
n»USI   is also a major hangoW    are a powwful nmmarx that iiattm
for the rVaaaa Slate student body      interest* matter It i\ not coincidental
is so important. Bw presence of campus radio would remind ttiidrnt* of
their kiemitv and amquenes*
But instead, the demands of the
USU budget has led the board of th
rector*, most of whom are itawnts,
to opt for a con effective juke bo*
They don't even have the ability to
pK-k up radio down near the Pit
I'm not saying thai playing KFSR
m rhese areas will cause «ome big
show of solidarity I don t expect u*
to link arm* and smg "We are The
World
But, in the wake of events like the
Malcolm Boyd assault and the Ku
Klux Klan presence on campus, ra
dao could remind.u* that the untver
say a realty about the students KFSR
could be a unifying force for morale
The station doe* pkty tpecaakfy programming, or at Bw ttodeut staff pais
it. "music that you wsxaldn't hew any
where else " And the format* vary al
most every day of the waek from jazz
to hip-bop. wait plenty of "progre*
*ive/alterrtettve" thrown m
Therefore, it might not serve as a
popular choice for customer-ocanwd
businesses like the USU, w Carl* Jr
But KFSR * format ha* been cbo-
fessor Jim Wilson, said tha* a lot ol
students don t even know thw the *ta
Baa exist*  This i* despde promo
a*aTiaaaaagaa1aalllWaaaaaalB
to DJ a paraes
Every radio station hat to build
following of listener* How can tool
lege ttaBoe gaa* wy hi
pus if the Wa
days a week for a a
My advice to Bw ituatW acbvuy
and food center* on campus Pick up
Even if you
*o**nd, at least give d
selves Ouuh
a hand to the
and n came* many antaue program*
like blue* and lounge nwWc Bw are
InsiglTt
BRIM. \ FRIEND IX)
lllr IM \ (,WU  I KI I
Buy one ticket Io the game and get the wxxwd
free with a minimum $20 rniahaae!
cw.-Tul BARBKQIT!
Oscn I0» ?» M tat
Join us 3 htHir*. prior to Wit huff for great
POOD and Ml Sl(  in the Rulhhtg
Plaza parking lot!!
fnssr one stop 'hop ft" <m
JACKSON: School
visit draws support
of students, faculty
CofttBtuod from page 1
going to he doomed "
He said mat trend is why k naaant
crucial for nudent* to attend raRket
like the ow Jackson haw at fwtno
Staw and Monday* march in Sacra
The large ganWrwaj Tuesday mdi
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