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Alcohol in perspective
The buttons aren't very pleasant.
They show a sick figure vomiting into
a toilet bowl with the words "Don't
Be A Puke" written across the top.
But for some students and administrators,
alcohol abuse isn't very
pleasant either.
The second annual Alcohol Awareness
Week was kicked-off on Tuesday with a
movie illustrating the dangers of drinking
and driving and a p4l1el discussion about
tbe causes, crises and cures for
alcoholism on campus.
According to Bruce Pitman, Dean of
Students, the thrust of the program is Dot
to discourage the use of booze, but rather
to promote responsible drinking.
"We'd be crazy to stand here and say
'Thou shalt not drink,'" Pitman told an audience
of about 100 students on tbe first
evening. "And, I'm not kidding myseU
that what I'm saying here, now, will mean
that fewer gallons of beer will be consumed
on Friday night after the football
game.
"But alcohol is a drug we use in social
situations...a drug that's socially acceptable.
I really believe, therefore, that we
have a social obligation to create environments
that encourage the responsible
use of alcohol, rather than the abuse
of alcohol."
According to statistics compiled from
a Student Advisory Services survey, more
than 90 percent of UI students drink, Pitman
said. More than half are worried
about the long-range consequences of
drinlting, and many said they were encouraged
by their peers to drink more
than they wanted.
The student panelists, primarily living
group leaders, said peer pressure is the
main reason many students drink. The
panelists advocated group responsibility
for curbing alcohol use on campus.
Putting alcohol use in the proper
prespective is another problem students
face, the panelists said.
"I think we really have to think about
where alcohol stands as a priority," said
Pat Miller, former president of Gamma
Phi Beta sorority.
"We need. to sit and think about 'Am I
in control of myself? Am I putting alcohol
in a place it shouldn't be in my life?'" she
said.
Alcohol Awareness Week activities
concluded Wednesday evening at Gault
Hall with a carnival featuring games,
casino tables and lots of prizes. It also included
beer, but only on a responsible
basis.O
Puck.ring up.
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150 Alcohol Awareness