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TUESDAY
April 1 6, 1 996
iyf GGIE
Page 3
Reasons for alcohol use differ among students
Evan Zimmerman, The Baitalion
Students socialize and relax over a pitcher of beer, which is a common scene at local bars and pool halls.
By John LeBas
The Batt alion
tudents at Texas A&M are no
strangers to alcohol.
According to the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission, there are
about 73 active wine and beer retailer
permits in Bryan-College Station.
These businesses are typically bars
and pool halls, visited nightly by
A&M students. And of course, one of
the things students do at these estab
lishments is drink.
Many students who chose to drink do
so responsibly. Yet alcohol causes
enough problems to raise concerns over
underage drinking, driving while intoxi
cated, dependency and other issues.
Dr. Dennis Reardon, coordinator of
the Alcohol and Drug Education Pro
gram in the Department of Student
Life, said about 90 percent of Aggies
drink throughout the school year, and
most of them do not ever have a prob
lem with alcohol.
Reardon said freshmen especially,
however, should be aware of how alco
hol may negatively affect them.
' “The most dangerous time for a
student is the freshman year,” Rear
don said. “Freshmen are pushed into
an environment where alcohol is
readily available. It’s not so much
peer pressure, but a way to fit in with
a group.”
Natalie Gallagher, a freshman gen
eral studies major, said she does go
out and drink with friends, but pri
marily drinks because she likes the
taste of alcohol.
Gallagher, who drinks about three
or four times a week, said she may
grab a drink after class or stay sober
for weeks.
“I only drink when I like the taste —
not for the sake of drinking,” she said.
Gallagher said she is not concerned
with the legal drinking age, even
though she is 19. It hasn’t stopped
her from buying or drinking alcohol,
which she partly attributes to grow
ing up in Laredo.
“I buy all the time, or I can have a
friend buy,” she said. “I’m not scared.
Growing up in Laredo, if you can ask
for it, they’ll give it to you.”
Gallagher said because several
dorms are located within easy walking
distance of the Northgate bars, minors
may be more encouraged to drink.
“I’m not complaining — I like it, be
cause that’s how I grew up,” she said.
“But if the University wanted to control
it, they should have thought a little
harder before they built housing.”
On the other hand, these students
usually do not have to drive home
from Northgate after drinking.
Reardon said that driving while in
toxicated is a big problem and part of
why alcohol laws are so rigorously en
forced here.
“In this age group, you are most
likely to die in an alcohol-related ac
cident,” he said. “We’re concerned
about it because we know from a na
tional survey that Texas A&M is
ranked high with students who are
likely to drive after they’ve been
drinking. We talk about the age law
as if it were sacred, and it is because
it has to do with delaying the likeli
hood for a young person to be in
volved in accident.”
Anyone who has tried to convince a
drunk to hand over his or her keys
can identify the various reasons in
toxicated persons fail to compromise.
The possible consequences of driving
drunk may not even deter an individ
ual from getting behind the wheel.
A Student Life Alcohol and Drug
Education Program pamphlet com
piled from data from the Brazos
County Chapter of Mothers Against
Drunk Driving, Channing L. Bete’s
“What Everyone Should Know About
Alcohol” and Wisconsin Clearing
house’s “The Party’s Over: Helping
Your Guests Get Home Safely,” points
out the price of drunk driving.
DWI offenders spend 72 hours in
jail. The crime goes on their perma
nent records. Towing fees, bond,
fines, court and attorney costs, proba
tion and insurance premium increas
es may run upwards of $17,000.
Treatment, jail sentences and liabili
ty may push this cost even higher.
Beyond this, death or injury may
result from a drunken driving acci
dent. One person is killed in Texas
every eight hours in such wrecks. A
person is injured every 16 minutes.
People who have been drinking
may consider themselves OK to drive.
But one drink can impair reflexes and
concentration. As few as four drinks
may seriously affect a 180-pound
man’s ability to drive.
"More Aggies will die an early
death because of alcohol than
will achieve graduate degrees."
— DR. DENNIS REARDON
coordinator, Alcohol and Drug Education Program
While such an intake may not
make a person “legally” drunk — with
a blood alcohol content of 0.10 or
higher — it is up to a police officer to
decide if a person is intoxicated.
Intoxication is partly defined by
law as “not having the normal use of
mental or physical faculties by reason
of the introduction of alcohol, a con
trolled substance, a drug, or a combi
nation of two or more of those sub
stances in the body,” and a person in
this state may be charged with DWI.
To avoid a drunken driving situa
tion, the Department of Student Life
urges Aggies to watch out for their
friends, do not drive drunk or ride
with someone who is drunk, and des
ignate a driver.
Gallagher agreed on the impor
tance of designating a driver.
“I’ve driven drunk, and it’s the
scariest thing I’ve ever done,” she
said. “There are times when the dri
ver is the least drunk, but I’ll always
try to find someone sober. Drunk dri
ving is the stupidest thing.”
This is also the logic behind Desig
nate a Bus Transit, a program being
developed in part by Matt Kenyon, a
senior biomedical science major.
DAB Transit, slated to begin oper
ations next fall, will bring any Col
lege Station or Bryan resident to and
from clubs, bars and most apartment
complexes in the area so they do not
have to drive drunk.
While the program is still in the
preparatory phase, Kenyon said such
a transportation system will cut down
See Drinking, Page 4
Evan Zimmerman, The Battalion
Lisa Tramuto, a junior business analysis major, and Amy Howard, a junior finance
major, drink beer at Duddley's Draw.
Bring your questions to our...
Student Panel Presentation
on
Study Abroad Experiences
Information and slides on
programs to -
Spain, Argentina, & France
Officer elections will also
be held for the 1996-97 school year.
Co-Sponsored by the
MSC L.T. Jordan Institute
for International Awareness
Tuesday, April 16
8:30 p.m.
Rudder 502
J a
NO Time for a
GOOD Lunch?
% %
.Think
The Plaza Cafe serves a
weekday lunch buffet
that'll satisfy your hunger
your schedule,
and your budget!
Each weekday
we offer different
specialty entrees,
plus we have
our magnificent
Soup & Salad Bar.
Served Monday - Friday
11am- 2pm
. ' f . . . •
801 University Drive East ♦ College Station
409.693.7500
In the College Station Hilton
Again
Rock'^ Saloon
Tonight April 9th
Steve Green
from
Pete's Piano Bar on 6th Street in Austin
Si 00 Bar Drinks and $1 00 Long Necks
8 - 10 p.m.
Register to Win!!
This Tuesday’s give away at J.D. Wells
Eg] A Tag Heuer Watch
Courtesy of
John D. Huntley
313B South College Ave. • 846-891^
(located next to Hurricane Harry’s)
Sign up at entry, Tuesday night, must be present to win.