E L O N COLLEGE
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,a,j»lume XIV, No. 8 Wednesday, October 2h 1987 Elon College, NC
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i —% 1 Yaawwwn!
. V « ®y Lance Meacham
Ql I Staff Writer
dcohol Awareness Week To Begin
^'“'‘Campuses around the nation
' ■" t preparing for the fourth an-
"“'ai National Collegiate Alcohol
Weness Week (October 19-25),
iking ready to test young peo-
on their knowledge of alcohol.
How responsible are college
^"■idents about drinking? Passing
Equivalence Aptitude Test
.A.T.) ia a key measure of how
Jj'jch students know about
:«hol consumption.
It'll To pass the E.A.T. you mjist
lit itow this simple but crucial for-
ila: The most common servings
Jn! beer (12 ounces), wine (5
a® nces) and distilled spirits (I 1/4
nces) contain equal amounts of
i’-iohol.
isiWhy is passing the E.A.T. and
iJci' ing apart of National Collegiate
iivi'Cohol Awareness so important?
ml be responsible, everyone needs
l,i'- know facts, not myths about
3(6 :ohol.
ihi ar tot) many accidents are
sed by young people who get
to ind the wheel of a car think-
. il»‘ “I'm fine. 1 only had a few
Jtrs.”
:i »luch misinformation is all too
xti '.n deadly. Maybe that’s why 50
iii5 cent of all driving fatalities are
ait 'sed by drunk drivers. And why
m * of all those arrested for DWl
^st had a few beers.”
1. Don’t drive after your next
tailgate party or happy hour—
whether you’ve had beer, wine
or distilled spirits.
One American dies in an alcohol-
rejated traffice accident every 35
minutes. Better walk an extra mile
or .spend the night at a friend's
than risk taking lives on the road.
2. Eat something-never drink on
an empty stomach. Eat before
you go to a party, eat while you're
there. Solid food like cheese can
slow down the alcohol absorption
rate. If you're throwing a party,
serve lots of munchies and plen
ty- of mixers.
3. Don’t be pushed into drink
ing more than you can handle
and don’t pressure your friends
to keep up with you. Everyone
has an individual tolerence. Let
your friends pace themselves.
4. Keep a watchful eye: Cocktails
should contain no more than 1 1/4
ounces of distilled .spirits. Wine is
commonly no more than a 5
ounce serving and a typical serv
ing of beer is 12 ounces. If you’re
mixing your own drink, u.se a shot
glass to measure the liquor.
5. Know yourself and your
mood. If you rarely drink, chug
ging beers will affect you fa.ster
than it would someone who is ac
customed to drinking. Your mood
can also influence the way you
react to a drink. If you’re depre.ss-
ed over a test, drinking will
depress you further.
Here are some common sense and
dangerous myths about alcohol
that should be dispelled:
Myth No.l You can pace yourself
by switching from liquor to beer
to wine.Wrong. You consume the
same amount of alcohol-and can
get just as drunk-from common
servings of beer, wine, and liquor.
Myth No.2 Coffee can sober you
up if you're drunk.Wrong Again.
Coffee may wake you up, but it
won't sober you up. If you drink
one t(xi many and then have a cup
of coffee and drive, you are just
a wide-awake drunk behind the
wheel. Also, taking a cold shower
won't do the trick either. Thai's
only going to make you a wet
drunk.
Socializing, the experts say, is
a major part of the college ex
perience. College offers the stu
dent the chance to blossom social
ly as well as in the classroom.
Opportunities for the Elon Col
lege student, alas, are not
abundant.
“There's nothing else to do here
at Elon but get drunk and go to
fraternity parties,” said freshman
Jennifer Myers in disgust.
“If you don’t drink. Elon can be
very boring.”
Sophomore Bill Burkette was a
tad more optimistic, saying, “It’s
out there, I guess, if you want it.
“You definitely have to make
your own fun here.”
There are, of course, places to
go in and around the Elon
College-Burlington area.
The two bars in town of Elon
College, Dewar’s and The
Lighthouse, enjoy business of the
college students as they are the
only bars within walking distance
of the campus. Other bars in the
area include The Gambler and
JR’s.
Another popular option is the
"road trip.” With Elon’s cental
geographical location, places like
Greensboro, Durham and Chapel
Hill are all within a 45-minute
drive.
“I live in Chapel Hill," said
.sophomore Tim Watts, "and I go
home almost every weekend
because there's much more to do
there.
“To me, Elon is boring and the
girls are stuck up.”
Clubs like The Underground in
Greensboro and WFUN in
Chapel Hill attract many Elon
students becuase of their “over-
under” policy These clubs allow
thos under the legal drinking age
of 21 to come in and socialize.
They cater to the college crowd.
The Greek organizations here
on campus have traditionally been
the on-campus sources of enter
tainment, but with the destruction
of fraternity houses this summer
they have been limited in what
they can do.
Most of the frat parties now
have to take place off-campus, and
they are often monitored by
police.
All this means the average stu
dent must be creative in his or her
quest for entertainment.
“Unless you are in a fraternity
around here there’s not much to
do,” said junior John Perry, echo
ing on of the most common
laments.
With the organized parties
“chaperoned,” the burden of
entertainment falls on the
shoulders of each individual.
Small, private parties in dorm
rooms are becoming as popular as
road trips.
The problem is timeless, and
there is no question but that the
stricter drinking law has changed
student behavior. Good times are
the same, they just require a more
creative search these days.
Welcome Back
While you were enjoying the autumn
respondents were pumping out this truncated edition of The
Pendulum, Elon College’s best-read weekly.
Because we were short on staff, copy, ads, time, space
and patience, some items—notably ‘‘This Week At Elon"—
are a bit short. But, then, so is this week.
Try our new puzzle.
‘If you don’t drink, Elon can be very boring.”
—A freshman