others.
Alcohol Awareness Week
By: Angel Steele
The week of November third to No
vember seventh was Alcohol Awareness
Week. This is an annual event that Wilkes
Community College celebrates. This year the
college celebrated by having a BYOB (Bring
Your Own Banana) party. This is where stu
dents and staff could come and enjoy banana
splits while learning about problems with al
cohol in our society. There was a display and
pins and bookmarks were given out to those
who wanted them. This was a definite suc
cess for the college. Over one-hundred stu
dents and staff showed up for this exciting
and delicious event.
Another way the college tried to raise
awareness of the dangers of alcohol was to
invite a speaker. Dr. Stephen Walker came to
WCC to share his knowledge on alcohol. Be
ing the head of the physiology and pharma
cology departments, Dr. Walker researches
alcohol addiction from the results of his ex
periments on primates. He is trying to show
how social drinking can lead to an alcoholic
addiction. This was also a successful event.
Many attended, including many classes, fac
ulty, staff, individual students, and even some
professionals from the community.
The college also prints a statement of
how alcohol affects your life in every fall and
spring schedule. This statement is described
more in depth in the student handbook. It tells
of the illegal consequences and the health
risks associated with drinking. The college
does this to show concern about the students
having a better lifestyle that excludes harmful
habits such as drinking alcohol. It has been
proven that, although most people associate
drinking with college students, most students
do not drink. WCC is concerned with how
their students live and tries to persuade them
to live a healthier lifestyle. Following are
some common myths about alcohol that are
on the website:
www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov.
Myth 1:1 can drink and still be in con
trol.
Fact 1: Drinking impairs your judgment,
which increases the likelihood that you will do
something you’ll later regret, such as having
unprotected sex, being involved in date rape,
damaging property, or being victimized by
Myth 2: Drinking isn’t all that dangerous.
Fact 2 : One in three 18 to 24-year-olds admitted
to emergency rooms for serious injuries is intoxi
cated. Alcohol is also associated with homicides,
suicides, and drownings.
Myth 3: I can sober up quickly if I have
to.
Fact 3: It takes 3 hours to eliminate the alcohol
content of two drinks, depending on your weight.
Nothing can speed up this process—not even
coffee or cold showers.
Myth 4: It’s okay for me to drink to keep
up with my boyfriend.
Fact 4: Women process alcohol differently. No
matter how much he drinks, if you drink the same
amount as your boyfriend, you will be more intoxi
cated and more impaired.
Myth 5:1 can manage to drive well
enough after a few drinks.
Fact 5: About one-half of all traffic crashes
among 18-to 24-year olds involve alcohol. If you
are under 21, driving after drinking any alcohol is
illegal and you could lose your license. The risk of
a fatal crash for drivers with positive BACs (Blood
Alcohol Content) compared with other drivers
(i.e., the relative risk) increases with increasing
BAC, and the risks increase more steeply for driv
ers younger than 21 than for older drivers.
Myth 6: I’d be better off if I learn to “hold
my liquor.”
Fact 6: If you have to drink increasingly larger
amounts of alcohol to get a “buzz” or “get high,”
you are developing tolerance. Tolerance is actu
ally a warning sign that you’re developing more
serious problems with alcohol.
Myth 7: Beer doesn’t have as much alco
hol as hard liquor.
Fact 7: A 12-ounce bottle of beer has the same
amount of alcohol as a standard shot of 80-proof
liquor (either straight or in a mixed drink) or 5
ounces of wine.