Dangers of drinking and driving displayed during Alcohol Awareness Week

This demolished car sat at the corner of the Roosevelt Concourse and Duncan Drive as an example: of what can happen when someone drinks and drives. Several student organizations came together to sponsor Alcohol Awareness Week. Rod Guajardo / ASSISTANT PHOTO STAFF

Students were educated this week on a subject they face every day: alcohol.

Alcohol Awareness Week, sponsored by SGA, Office of Greek Life, Freshman Year Experience, Student Counseling Services and Auburn University Parents Association, was Monday through Wednesday this week.

“SGA wanted to do an Alcohol Awareness Week sometime this semester, especially with the two alcohol-related deaths,” said Clay Parker, SGA senator-at-large.

Panhellenic President Meredith Gaston said she thinks alcohol awareness is an important issue for students.

“A lot of people drink and drive; it’s just for some people, the outcome is worse,” said  Gaston, a senior in biomedical sciences. “Everybody knows that friend that will never get a cab.”

Gaston said alcohol awareness is something the University needs to address.

“I’m hoping that maybe with a little more insight into the subject and awareness on the part of the University to target students, maybe it will help them think twice about whether they get behind the wheel of a car and drive home,” Gaston said.

Parker, a junior in biomedical sciences, said the event is in conjunction with National Alcohol Awareness Week.

Parker said the University has not had anything like this in the past 10 years, and he hopes to make it an annual event.

Gaston said she has not seen a concerted effort like this on campus about alcohol education.

“It’s organizations that have been affected by it, and now we’re finally all coming together to take a stand to say something about it,” Gaston said.

A wrecked vehicle was on display Monday near the stadium parking deck. At the event, information on alcohol education and prevention was handed out, and State Farm and Alfa representatives distributed tips on safe driving.

Parker said passing out the fliers was a huge success ,and a lot of the State Farm and Alfa representatives were enthusiastic about educating students and making Alcohol Awareness Week an annual event on campus.

A DUI/DWI simulator was also on campus by the stadium parking deck Tuesday, which uses goggles, a computer screen and sensors on a parked vehicle to show students what it is like to drive under the influence.

When students enter the vehicle, they are able to choose how many drinks they’ve had over a certain period of time, weight, age and gender on a computer screen to calculate their blood alcohol content. Jake Dewberry was one of the first students to test the simulator.

“It was really cool to see how technology has gotten so good because it was pretty real,” Dewberry said.

He said it was a neat experience to be able to tell the difference in driving drunk and being sober by removing the goggles.

Gaston said she thinks students will be affected most by the luminaries scheduled for Wednesday.

“You hear statistics all the time, and that’s just what they are,” Gaston said. “They’re just numbers, but when you put a visual something with that, I think it really hits harder than it would normally.”

Parker said 1,500 luminaries are expected to be lit at Toomer’s Corner and Samford Lawn. He said each candle represents one person who is likely to die in October in alcohol-related incidents across the country.

Gaston said alcohol awareness affects a variety of students.

“I think it’s not necessarily a gender or ethnicity or organizational thing, but I definitely think it’s the age group we’re at,” Gaston said. “The idea of college and independence and doing things on your own, I think affects people more so than it would in the real world.”

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