3er 9,
October 9, 1997
O The Battalion
PINION
Dne last round of drinks
indents must abandon childish acts of drinking to survive in college
Len
Callaway
columnist
sik,outsi
-othspei
litter
led the
comebal
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out
lominaiel
tertheOB^ eer, smoke,
point cjr^ sweat, shoul-
tggiesteB/ der to shoul-
d pci:g,- crowds of drunk-
he swe# 00 i s anc j crappy
e led ' r bp-40 tunes blaring
' me ^ point of dis-
v (hefirsM^n an(d static —
hadthaift 6 images can
jji m , bviously be found
d Wednesday through
id said afurday night at
hewav ny bar or club in
d the College Station and
abit of couple of Biyan locales,
t down lately, my ambition to throw down a
when ;aggle o’ brewskies and sweat my prover-
dshoff iiai butt off fighting the crowds has not
1 to corieen its old self. It’s really quite disturbing,
lly fired ] can remember (sort of) nights, not too
, ai |)ng ago, when I would have been in the
1 iulsating mass of fools doing their best to
pend every cent they have in the name of
( j es j m .good drink. I can remember days with-
j [0 j iut class (or with them for that matter) I
as well P ent siding on some veranda reminiscent
ir home °ld Mexico, drinking homemade mar-
r victorfatitas until my vision began to blur, then
ivegair'Witching to beer and continuing on like a
rk foi rooper until I was blinded by the sauce.
• /* a ^ er an a PP ro P r i ate amount of ve-
a ^ me was i l necessary to proceed to
J ■ preordained festival spot.
|Once on the scene, the real malay be-
An immediate trip to the bar for shots
chasers was mandatory. Back in the
rem when one entered a room full of
Texas »wcaty, drunken kids who were out of
oughtt’lfokes it was important to go directly to
s and to he bar and take a couple of shots to show
scondd he crowd that you came to party. After
atthebwi ating, smoking, drinking and yelling
jay. nto my friends’ ears for a couple of hours,
alayintf-B bouncers would always make their
t moved obligatory “Get out, we have lives too”
er-par
speech and throw everybody out the door.
You guys know what is coming next.
These nights were never complete
without the 3 a.m. stop at a fast food
restaurant. Immediately after eating, the
alcohol induced state of unconsciousness
became reality.
One might be compelled to think that
since I’ve passed out, the fun is over for
the night. Wrong. Without fail, somewhere
around 6 a.m., the lovely over- drinking
pastime called barforama would begin.
Barforama time was a special time, in
deed. My favorite part was always when
my stomach would lift the evening’s liba
tions up my innards with such force that I
could feel my eyes bugging out of their
sockets, while every drop of blood in my
body simultaneously rushed into my face.
All of the food, only three or fours old,
never tasted as good coming back up. Bar
forama time was always followed with 10
or 12 aspirin to numb the pain in my head.
Finally, after the aspirin had a chance
to take effect on my newly emptied stom
ach, I would eventually get back to sleep.
So after consuming ridiculous amounts
of booze, a couple of packs of smokes and a
combo meal, I would wake up only to get
slapped with a blistering headache the mo
ment standing became an ambition. Laying
in bed wondering what happened to me last
night was always a real hoot because all
drunks operate on roughly the same time
schedule, and the calls would begin coming.
“Hey, man, are you okay? What did we
do last night? Where did we go? Are there
any phone numbers in your pocket? No?
Mine either. What do you want to do to
day? It depends on what time the drive-
thru beer store opens, because the game
comes on at noon, and I don’t have the en
ergy to walk.”
Those were the days — not a care in the
world other than whatever is on the syl
labus for tomorrow’s class and sometimes
even that did not matter.
The most incredible and sobering injus
tice that life has to offer has recendy been
exercised on me. I have lost the will to party.
I know some of us are still under the
impression that the events and actions
described above are the only way to spend
a weekend. Well guess what geniuses, your
quite wrong. Yep, it’s official that some of
us have grown up. As horrible as it sounds,
I believe it to be true. Don’t be scared kids,
my dad says it happens and not to worry.
It happens to almost eveiyone.
The time must come for us all when the
proper course of action is to leave the
drunken scene behind and seek out less
destructive pastures. The good part about
it is that I’m not sad to see the times go.
Once one gets all of the barley and hops
out of their brain, the old protons and
electrons begin to fire a little faster. Sud
denly, being sober for extended periods
of time kind of becomes fun again.
One eventually begins to realize that |
these times were not that fun anyway, but
they were therapeutic to a degree — as
therapeutic as voluntary vomiting and
self-induced migraines can be anyway.
It is preferred to gather with a few
friends and socialize without feeling like
having to drink one’s self into a stupor.
It is not the liquor that is the problem;
it is the attitude that drinking to such ma
jor excess is a positive and that some feel
that they must drink to fit in. Besides, dri
ving is easier without worrying about in
juring someone, yourself or having the
police pull you over. You wake up with all
of your money, most of your smokes and
without a hangover. Think about it Ags —
it’s really a much better way to live.
Len Callaway is a junior
journalism major.
ourse
nd it W3:i
leanneS;
/erypinil
eople should realize damaging effects of alcohol abuse
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eer seems to be an essen
tial ingredient for a col
lege weekend. Students
et together, pass around the
ottles, impair their judgment,
lose consciousness, feel vio-
[ently ill the next morning and
ome will not remember the
previous evening.
They insist it is fun, but it is
otliing but frightening.
Alcohol is a destructive
:orce on campus and in the
Jnited States. Students and
toil
ie
tour,*
schools
AM
npian H
oelli $c ; :
be an' ~
i expa
Dave
Johnston
columnist
ociety must realize its awful affects and refuse to
tionntfBolerate its use.
Alcohol and its abuse is most prevalent on col-
ege campuses. This school year already has heard
ragic stories of students whose “night of fun” end-
d in death. Students at both LSU and MIT died of
ilcohol poisoning.
A chemical this potent should be heavily regulat-
d. It is more dangerous than many illegal drugs and
stronger than several prescription medications.
Someone who is drunk is no longer able to act re
sponsibly. No matter what myths exist on campus,
responsibility is always a virtue. Alcohol has a terri
ble impact on the binge drinker’s body. Over years,
this poison destroys the liver and kills brain cells.
Unfortunately, the health benefits can often be more
immediate — memory loss, coma or death.
Alcohol causes over 100,000 deaths in the United
States each year (for those of you keeping score at
home, that is as many Americans killed each year as
during the entire Vietnam and Korean Wars com
bined). Alcohol is deadly, and designating a driver
does not guarantee safety.
Most students who drink do not “drink to get
drunk.” But other drinking habits are also dangerous
and foolish.
Many people use liquor to relax or unwind at the
end of the day. Since the body develops a tolerance
to alcohol, it will take more and more to achieve the
same effects. The occasional drinker may not be
aware of the fact they are increasing their intake. Be
sides, anyone who regularly uses a mood-altering
drug (stronger than many prescription options)
needs to pay attention to a deeper problem.
A similar group of people only drink socially. Per
haps they will not become one of the 15 million al
coholics in the United States. Maybe they will be re
sponsible and never harm themselves or someone
else, but alcohol is still a foolish choice.
Even one drink impairs judgment. Even if the so
cial drinker acts responsibly and does not operate any
heavy machinery (imagine being in no condition to
mow a yard), no wise person would voluntarily dis
pose of their faculties. No one can be sure they will
not need to be alert within the next few hours.
A few drinkers partake of the spirits because they
like the taste. These folks may not face the same prob
lems and risks of other drinkers, but they should still
stop and weigh the costs of their past dealings with al
cohol. Anyone who drinks alcohol is playing with fire.
Though it may never become a serious problem
chances are it will cause some bad aftereffects.
Many people like to take comfort in the notion
that in small doses alcohol is not harmful and may
actually be healthy. The fact is alcohol will likely
harm the body and never do it any good.
A few studies suggest certain amounts of alcohol
are beneficial, but there are far more studies refuting
these conclusions.
Americans spend over $22 billion a year on alco
hol (about the name number of federal dollars are
spent on education). Alcohol is expensive, risky and
its use leads too easily to abuse. It can cause depres
sion, violence, dependency, illness, death or count
less other damaging consequences.
Today’s society holds tobacco in contempt and
accepts widespread alcohol use and abuse. No one
smokes a pack of cigarettes then wraps his or her car
around a tree. Alcohol presents a far more violent
threat physically and emotionally.
Liquor flows freely at Texas A&M. Students need
to wake up before they are caught in its disastrous
wake. The decision to drink is an important one.
Students should remember that alcohol will proba
bly damage the body, and will never do it any good.
Dave Johnston is a senior
mathematics major.
Call
is sin, no matter
s selec‘|V hat form it takes
r esponse to all the Mail Call let-
I am somewhat disturbed by
the collective mindset of many of
Texas A&M’s students.
First of all, we must realize that
God does not hate the gay man or
lesbian woman.
On the other hand, The Bible is
plain in its concern dealing with
homosexual relationships.
We must realize that sin is sin,
whether it be in the form of homo
sexuality or fornication.
Yes, God loves the sinner but
hates the sin. We must pray for the
homosexual and the lesbian, as well.
As flesh, we all have the ability
to fail pray to temptation. But, we
do not have to accept this lifestyle
as normal or as an alternative.
Life is made up of two alterna
tives, that being right or wrong,
righteous or unrighteous.
If an individual chooses the so-
called “alternative lifestyle,” he or
she has made a decision that op
poses not only The Bible, but also
nature itself.
So the question arises: What
must we do about all of this?
We must pray for a change in
today’s American society.
We must also recognize sin as
sin, and wrong as wrong.
Craig McCracken
Pastoral assistant
Bryan, TX
Protection from natural disasters
should be responsibility of citizens
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Robby
Ray
columnist
Me*
Jhristii
third,
/ely.
/ strerfi
icingly
i race^
is coi#
ling
some
esses.
ecent
years
have
seen a dra
matic in
crease in
the amount
of damage
resulting
from natur
al disasters.
From
floods and
mudslides to
blizzards and tornadoes, there is
no doubt that Mother Nature has
unleashed some of her most pow
erful and destructive forces. The
irony is that much of the damage
is preventable.
Due to widespread human ar
rogance in thinking that we have
brought the forces of nature un
der control, man has begun to in
habit unstable areas of land
which were previously deemed
too dangerous to live on, such as
floodplains and coastlines.
Additionally, due to widespread
human whining, man has begun
to think that it is the government’s
responsibility to pay for damages
incurred when forces of nature
strike these vulnerable areas.
This year, scientists are predict
ing a long, cold, wet winter based
on studies of a phenomenon
called El Nino, which is a mass of
warm water in the Pacific Ocean
that moves up from near the equa
tor toward the coast of South
America. This unusual current is
believed to be responsible for
much of the weather surrounding
the Pacific Ocean. It occurs every
year during the winter months,
but is especially strong this year.
The last time El Nino was this
strong was recorded in the winter
of 1982, when it spawned severe
weather throughout North and
South America. The U.N. World
Meteorological Organization esti
mated that over 2,000 people were
killed and $13 billion in damage
occurred worldwide. In the United
States, damage estimates ranged
as high as $2 billion, concentrated
mostly along the Pacific Coast.
In light of this knowledge, one
would think that the West Coast
would be a frenzy of activity as
people frantically prepare for the
coming severe weather. But that is
not happening.
In defense of citizens of the
Granola State, there is a lot of
preparation going on, but it is al
most exclusively limited to the
governmental agencies, city and
county emergency services, and
people with leaky roofs (don’t
laugh, the wait for a good roofer
right now is more than a month).
Also, sales of flood insurance
are skyrocketing. These are pru
dent steps, but what is lacking is a
general sense of urgency at the
prospect of severe weather.
Further inland, which is every
where east of the Sierra Nevadas,
there is no preparation going on
whatsoever, even though the pos
sibility exists that rain and snow
fall could exceed the capacities of
rivers and drainage systems.
Even more threatening is the
prospect that a warmer winter in
the Great Lakes area could send
more runoff downstream earlier
and faster than the rivers can han
dle, causing more flooding in the
Mississippi River Basin. Residents
in these areas are not even aware
of the possibility of a problem.
Federal Emergency Manage
ment Agency Director James J.
Witt is urging people to buy flood
insurance, but this is not the great
idea it seems.
The problem with insurance is
that it lulls people into a false
sense of security, making them
think that they are prepared for
the coming storms. When severe
weather strikes, they are hit harder
and suffer more damage because
they have not prepared as thor
oughly as those not buoyed by the
false security insurance provides.
And when it comes to paying all
those insurance claims, who pays?
The policies are written by private
companies but are backed by the
federal government, so the bill ulti
mately falls at the feet of the taxpay
ers. This is in addition to any direct
federal money that may be given
because of a disaster declaration.
The bottom line is that the
country can no longer afford to
pay for the irresponsibility of its
citizens. Homeowners and govern
ment officials alike need to stop
relying on the illusion that insur
ance is a cure-all and realize that
the only true way to ease the cost
of a natural disaster is to be thor
oughly prepared for it.
Robby Ray is a senior speech
communications major.