T-Shirts Help to Raise Awareness
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Mavs’ offense falls short Page 8 Page 7 The CMesariterion State College u criterion.mesastate.edu Oct. 27, 2009 The voice of the students Vol. 79 Issue 9 Drinking and driving not worth it Guinea pig learns a lesson Jason Franklin Junction Police Department was go- Guest Writer ing to be involved, the conversation moved from odd to Lady GaGa weird. Alcohol affects faster When my editor called and asked Now, for the record, I am not entirely me to get drunk with Amanda at a stranger to the combination of alco- 12:30 in afternoon I thought hol and law enforcement. it was a little odd. After he I can say with some knowledge than many realize explained that the Grand that this particular mix doesn’t usu- ally end well, especially if you are the Amanda Friar tests. After seven drinks I blew a one drinking. Back in my early 20’s, News Editor .096 and Jason blew a .149 af- I had the poor judgment to drive af- ter nine drinks. We both stumbled ter we had a couple of pre-party beers In what twisted reality does along the tape on the ground and al- and was arrested for DWAI. This one a 21-year-old girl end up getting most fell over multiple times trying mistake completely de-railed my life. drinks poured for her by the police to balance on one leg. I have often looked back and won- and having them egg her on to drink Being able to drink in a controlled dered if my impairment behind the more? But such is my life that I end- environment where I was able to re- wheel that night was balanced with ed up sipping on Captain Morgan ally pace myself and feel what each the punishment I received. Thanks to spiced rum and coke with the cops drink did to my system and senses, my editor coming down with the flu pouring me more shots and coming rather than sit at a party and see if I nearly 10 years later, I was about to up with possible drinking games. My can out-drink the guy sitting next to find out. shock with what was happening dis- me was very eye opening. Don’t get The first thing that happened was appeared along with my senses as I me wrong, I definitely tried to out- that both the Grand Junction P.D. drank more, however. drink Jason this time too, but it was and Mesa State College made sure While this was definitely not my easier to feel each drink affect my that Amanda and I knew that they first experience with alcohol, being balance, speech, sight. do not condone getting excessively able to be the Grand Junction Police Many things sounds like a good drunk. This was an experiment for the Department’s “guinea pig” was quite idea when drunk, but it’s not until affects of alcohol on a student. They literally a once in a lifetime oppor- you’re in a controlled environment were there to administer and control tunity. I mean, how many college that you are able to think about the environment to keep us both safe. kids get to be escorted home by the what’s actually a good idea and what We took our first breathalyzer and police when they aren’t actually in isn’t. All of a sudden, telling the Brian Smith/Criterion did our first roadside. Even sober it trouble? Well, I got that opportunity. world my life story, being as hon- Jason Franklin finds out how quickly the rum and coke he was enjoy- was difficult. However, I wonder what my neigh- est as I could be and dancing on the ing affected him during an experiment with the GJPD. CONTINUED ON Page 2 bors must think of me now. table didn’t seem like the best idea, The experience started out simply though it had at a house party and enough. I had to take sobriety tests, the bar a few weeks ago. including the Breathalyzer, the “hor- Each drink increased my confi- izontal gaze,” the “walk and turn,” dence that I was just fine, but each T-shirts help to raise awareness and the “one leg stand.” I luck- drink also numbed my senses, mak- ily blew three “zeroes” on the first ing me more and more “not okay.” Bryan Wells “I think it went very, very well,” While at least one student may Breathalyzer, but even sober, the There was no way I’d be able to News Reporter Nicole Stomberg, the President of not have agreed with the t-shirt cam- tests were easy. I found myself mov- drive, let alone walk, the few blocks GSA said. “We’re still getting requests paign, Lance Ordonio, President of ing my head on horizontal gaze and to my house or say without slurring Mesa State students may have no- for the shirts and we don’t have any the Cultural Diversity Board, was im- the more I drank, my usually great or laughing that I was okay. ticed a number of their fellow class- more.” pressed with the outcome. balance caused me to stumble while This is what many college stu- mates wearing similar t-shirts last One hundred shirts were made “At first, I think there was a little trying to walk or stand on one leg. I dents don’t quite realize. Many peo- Wednesday. The t-shirts, of all dif- and all of them with the exception of concern that there wouldn’t be a lot even got yelled at for holding onto ple don’t realize the fast effects alco- ferent colors, have the words “Gay? one were given away and presumably of support but we ended up giving my pants while trying to balance. hol has on their system and that is Fine by Me” printed across the front worn for the event. all the shirts away on the first day,” After just two drinks, I was feel- what police want people to be aware and were given out as part of an event “There was one guy who was mak- Ordonio said. ing good. I was no longer shy with of when they drink. Always make sue held by The Gay Straight Alliance ing fun of us [as we were handing the Ordonio also mentioned that many anyone, everything was funny, all I you have a designated driver, even if (GSA) in honor of National Coming shirts out]; he also grabbed one of the people who hadn’t known about the wanted to do was dance (but didn’t you are only having one or two beers Out Day held Oct. 11. shirts and ran off,” Stomberg said. event asked him about the shirts and have any music to dance to), and yet at Old Chicago’s, or use other ser- where they could get their own. I felt confident that I could still drive vices such as Safe Rides or SERFS. One student who hadn’t previous- a car. After taking my second breath- And remember to pace yourself; ly known about the event but noticed alyzer, I abandoned all thoughts of drinking does not have to be about students who were wearing the shirts being able to drive myself home. I getting drunk and it does not have was Matthew Farrel. blew well over the legal limit, as did to be a contest to see who can drink “I have a friend who is gay. I don’t Jason, and we were both very close the most the fastest. It’s much more have anything against it, I mean to to failing our roadside tests. enjoyable and safe to simply enjoy a each his own,” Farrel said about the t- After three hours of drinking, drink or two with friends over din- shirt campaign. Jason and I had polished off an en- ner, movie or football game. According to Stomberg, the event tire bottle of rum and knew there u was meant to demonstrate that Mesa was no chance at us passing our [email protected] State College is an “open and accept- ing campus.” The day after the t-shirt cam- paign was held, the GSA also host- ed the movie “Journey to a Hate Free Millennium” and a discussion pan- el at the New Academic Building. The movie shows the effects of hate crimes and features the stories of Andrew Shepard, a young man who was tortured and beaten to death in Wyoming, James Byrd Jr., a man who was tortured and dragged to death in Texas, and the Columbine shooting in Littleton. “The film shows that hate is some- thing that someone is taught, not born with,” Stomberg said. u [email protected] Tue. Wed. Thur. Fri. Troy Sides/Criterion Mesa State Physics student Eric Hartline swings his hammer onto a cinder block resting on the belly of fellow Physics student Caitlin Heath - who is sandwiched between two beds of nails, the bottom one consisting of 780 nails. One square inch of human skin can withstand 2.5 pounds of pressure without penetration, so in order for 780 nails to penetrate Heath’s skin, she would have to weigh 56 39 92 45 over 600 pounds. 2 The Criterion u Oct. 27 u News Amanda Friar, editor News [email protected] THE HISTORY OF MESA STATE COLLEGE — PART TWO Campaign to make students aware of monetary costs of a DUI Landon Bain be costly. are not changing their behav- News Reporter There is some evidence ior due to the high cost of a to suggest other campaigns, DUI — a third of the near- The Colorado Department such as the “Heat is On” ly 30,000 people arrested for of Transportation wants col- campaigns, which usual- drunk driving in 2007 were lege students to know if you ly involve PSA’s with stern repeat offenders, according to drive while drunk, not only warnings from state patrol- a recent article in the Denver are you breaking the law, but men and DUI check points Post.