Virginia Tech administrators have been trying to curb the popularity of binge drinking among students.
With the recent alcohol-related death of Radford student Samuel Mason, party culture has come into the spotlight. His fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, was disciplined earlier in the semester for serving alcohol to minors.
In response to the 2004 alcohol poisoning death of Tech student Thomas Hauser, the Campus Alcohol Abuse Prevention Center developed the “Say Something” program.
Each incoming freshman is given a brochure about alcohol education presentations CAAPC offers to various student organizations.
“The students have responded pretty well,” said Steven Clarke, CAAPC director.
The Virginia Tech Rescue Squad responds to three to four drinking-related calls on an average weekend, not including off-campus incidents which are dispatched from Montgomery Regional Hospital.
Clarke said a blood alcohol content of .26 or above is enough to inhibit respiration and death can occur after .30, which can be reached with “between 13 and 16 drinks.”
Contrary to popular belief, freshmen aren’t the most susceptible to alcohol poisoning.
“People with the highest tolerance are at a bigger risk,” Clarke said. “Most people believe that tolerance means you process the alcohol faster, but there is only a 10 percent increase.”
Having 13 to 16 drinks may seem extreme, but Clarke says it happens fairly often.
“About 25 percent of people celebrating their 21st birthday are at .26 or above,” Clarke said, citing a study done at Tech from 2005 to 2007.
The “Say Something” brochure includes a wallet-sized card with information about diagnosing and responding to alcohol poisoning.
On the front of the card is a list of symptoms signaling a person requires medical assistance. The back of the card displays a diagram of the recovery position, which opens the airways and prevents the victim from suffocating if he vomits.
Clarke said the idea behind the card was to encourage people to call medical help before it’s too late.
“I’ve heard from several people that the card has been useful,” he said.
Clarke is also working on new programs to get students to take a more active role, and will be hosting focus groups in the coming weeks to determine policies.
“We need to develop a program that focuses on bystanders,” Clarke said. “A lot of these things can be prevented if bystanders stepped forward. We want to motivate them to take action in those situations.”
A version of this article appeared in the Nov 4 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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They need to make it where you won't get in trouble for calling an ambulance for a friend. If they are very drunk and you are worried, you shouldn't have to weigh the options between them getting a major 2 strike violation or them going to the hospital. Correct me if I'm wrong but that is how it is today.
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If you are hanging out with people that would put their police record before your health or even life in a situation like this, you need new friends.
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no, it's for the person actually drinking.... if you call the ambulance for them they get a major violation and are suspended from on campus housing the next year.... that can deter some people from calling for help because they don't want their friend to be in major trouble with vt
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would you rather your friend be suspended or dead? Because that's really the choice you make when you don't call for help when it is needed.
Also, the Student Conduct system is no longer on a "3 strike" policy. Each offense is managed based on the severity of it.
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would you rather your friend be suspended or dead? Because that's really the choice you make when you don't call for help when it is needed.
Also, the Student Conduct system is no longer on a "3 strike" policy. Each offense is managed based on the severity of it.
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Well, there is always the ipecac and small hosed vacuum solution to all drinking problems. As for dehydration...drink water or go to one of your friends that has a syringe handy and inject water and salts b/c we all don't have an IV handy.
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And injecting a friend with water is better? Let the professionals handle it. You inject an air bubble into their blood stream and you'll kill them.
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Well, if the "friend" has a needle... then they probably know how to use it... just hope that they don't have residue in it and that it is a new needle.
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"Virginia Tech administrators have been trying to curb the popularity of binge drinking among students"
Yeah right. Tech has done very little actually to address the problem. They essentially have been running a "see we're doing something!" ruse for quite some time. VT's administration continues to stay in a reactive versus pro-active mode... lot of good that does students such as the one who was so intoxicated he tried to climb onto an apartment building roof from the 3rd story railing, and died falling onto the pavement below.
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That was off campus. He was underage and he was responsible for his own actions. It's not the school's job to babysit everyone. It's 2010. It's not like we don't know the effects of alcohol on one's judgment. If you choose to ignore that, that's your own fault.
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