Monday, November 28, 2005
Booooooooooooze!
Keh. Where to start. The headline?
In College, Drunk Driving Takes a Back Seat
A headline like that implies that in college, folks don't spend a great deal of effort trying to drive drunk, as students prioritize other things.
Although Statistics Say Students Are Most at Risk, Education and Prevention Receive Less Attention
Less attention than... what? Less is a relative term. Less attention than in high school? Well, yeah, it's a college, not a high school, you can't force people into boring classes like that anymore. But actually, since high school students are still students, that argument doesn't fly, either.
Like many of his peers, UC Berkeley sophomore Adam Malinowski sat through more drunk driving videos and lectures during high school than he can remember.
But since arriving at UC Berkeley last year, Malinowski says he's been exposed to far fewer references to drunk driving, and his attention has shifted to other college concerns.
His attention has shifted? Was it a focus of his attention in high school? Did he wake up every morning concerned first with drunk driving, with chicks a distant second?
"Drunk driving is not really discussed in college," Malinowski says. "I know I learned quite a bit in high school. In college it's harder to educate people than in high school."
What does "quite a bit" include? "Driving while drunk is dangerous and illegal." Gee, that is "quite a bit." Anything else?
A 2004 National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration survey found that 21 to 24-year-olds were more likely to drive while intoxicated than any other age group. According to a 2001 report from the same group, drivers aged 15 to 20 are most likely to be involved in alcohol-related accidents.
Well, hold on now. I thought the argument was that college folks were more at risk than high school folks. But this report seems to suggest that it's the high schoolers who are more at risk, even if they drink and drive less.
To help prevent students from driving drunk, the university offers informational materials through the Tang Center and trains residence assistants and health workers to educate students, says Stacy Holguin, manager for the judicial affairs and compliance in the office of student development.
Residence assistants, eh? Well, forget the dorms, those folks don't drive. The apartments? Do apartment-dwellers even know who their residence assistant is? Oh, but the Tang Center has us covered.
"Woooo, I am sooooo wasted!!! I'm going home!!! But first I'm going to stop by the Tang Center to see if it's okay for me to drive home while drunk....... WOOOO!!!"
Hoguin says there have been fewer alcohol-related infractions in residence halls this semester in part because of the university-enforced moratorium on alcohol in fraternities and sororities. Students must also complete part of an online alcohol-education program before starting classes.
Since they can't drink at the frats, they drink less at the dorms? Astounding. But more astounding is trying to give AlcoholEdu credit for anything.
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