2008 Woodie Awards
Campus resources keep students safe
By: Nicole Williams
Issue date: 8/27/08 Section: Back to School
|
Going out downtown is one of the ways students will meet new friends and make new memories. But with many freshmen being inexperienced with alcohol, staying safe can be a challenge.
Alcohol poisoning
One very real risk students will encounter is pressure to binge drink.
About half the cases of alcohol poisoning seen at Enloe Medical Center involve students, said Judy Cline, trauma coordinator.
Frequently these involve students who are inexperienced drinkers, consuming large quantities of alcohol for the first time, Cline said.
But even veteran drinkers who participate in drinking games or challenges, such as 21 shots for a 21st birthday, can find themselves waking up in the emergency room, she said.
It takes about three hours for the body to metabolize two drinks, she said. Games like beer pong or king's cup make students drink too rapidly and cause the blood-alcohol content to rise too quickly.
Alcohol is a depressant and when the BAC is too high it decreases involuntary reflexes such as breathing and the gag reflex, Cline said. Because the gag reflex is inhibited, students run the risk of choking on their vomit and suffocating to death.
"It doesn't happen a lot," Cline said, "but it certainly does happen, and it has happened to students."
Not all people with alcohol poisoning make it to the hospital, Cline said. Many opt to "sleep it off" or are afraid to call 911.
But many people don't realize that even if they are sleeping, their BAC can continue to rise, Cline said, especially if they've consumed several drinks before passing out.
Cline recommends rolling anyone who has passed out because of alcohol on their side and propping them up with pillows. This will decrease the risk of choking to death.
Myths about food, water and coffee lowering your BAC and helping people sober up are false, she said. The only thing that will reduce the alcohol content is time.
Throwing up can help to some extent, but alcohol absorbs so quickly into the body it may not be enough, Cline said.
"Drunk people should not be in charge of other drunk people," she said. "So if that's all you got than you really need to call 911."
Many students are afraid to call 911 because they're worried their friends will be mad or embarrassed, she said.
"I hate for people to be afraid to get help," Cline said. "That's usually our biggest message to freshmen - if you're in over your head, then you've gotta get help. And you're being a good friend when you do that."
Rape
Unfortunately, Rape Crisis Intervention and Prevention employees can count on with each semester is a high number of rape cases.
"It's sad to say that, but that's pretty much what we have to look forward to," said Mary Vang, service coordinator. "We wish we could stop it but it's a reality."
Statistics show there are higher numbers of rapes in the college setting than in other populations, Vang said. This often has to do with a mix of drugs, alcohol, peer pressure and wanting to fit in.
Rape is any kind of sexual act that occurs against someone's will, Vang said. Rape includes oral, anal and vaginal intercourse and the use of external objects to penetrate.
Legally, intoxicated men and women are incapable of giving consent, Vang said. And when coupled with the heavy drinking that goes on at parties, rules about consent can be confusing.
If two people are drunk, whether consent can be given is relative to the level of intoxication of both parties, she said. If one is mildly drunk and the other is blacked out and unable to communicate consent, that's rape.
"It happens a lot where students go out and they don't remember what happened," Vang said. "But if you don't feel right - if your body doesn't feel right - then there are decisions you have to make."
Staff and volunteers are not mandated reporters, she said, which means they are not required to make a report to the police and often clients choose not to.
Most survivors choose not to report because 70 percent of rapes are acquaintance rapes, said Ashley Jackson, 21, service coordinator for the center. This means attackers are more often boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, cousins, classmates or roommates.
Students are more likely to drop their guard around people they know and care about, Vang said.
"That's your friend, you grew up with them and you just don't expect that of them," she said.
Denial and self-blame are other major factors, Jackson said. Survivors are often angry and think that they are alone or that law enforcement won't believe them.
Men who have been raped are even less likely to report it because it threatens their masculinity, she said.
The statistics for the number of men raped is the same as for women, she said. One out of every three people are sexually assaulted by the time they turn 18.
Some social dynamics foster the occurrence of rape.
One of the most obvious is the use of alcohol and drugs, Vang said.
"This is Chico ya know?" she said. "People do whatever floats their boat and when you're under the influence, it makes saying 'no' harder - even if you want to."
A common thing Rape Crisis sees is sororities and fraternities adding barriers for victims, she said.
"I had a client that was part of a sorority and was raped by a frat brother, and nobody believed her," Vang said.
Jackson thinks this is because the Greek system can isolate victims who want to speak out, she said. They don't want to believe their "brother" or "sister" is capable of committing rape.
"You don't want to be outcast, so you'll deny it or convince yourself that you wanted it," she said.
The upperclassmen-lowerclassmen dynamic also puts pressure on students, she said.
"They want to fit in and someone says, 'Oh take this,' it's hard to say no," Jackson said. "It's a form of acceptance."
Rape isn't really about wanting sex.
Most people view rape as something that got carried away in the moment, Vang said. But it's really about power and control and perpetrators often blame the victim.
"They'll say things like 'You wore that short skirt, you kissed me, you invited me over,'" she said. "To them mentally and logically they think they didn't do anything wrong."
But it is never the survivors fault, Vang said. Ever.
But family, friends and society are guilty of victim blaming, she said. It gives people someone to point their finger at, and it's hard to accept that people are capable of rape.
"If a girl goes out and drinks and gets extremely wasted to where she can't remember and she says she was raped it's easy to say it was her fault," Vang said.
Unfortunately, there is no way to tell which people rape and which don't, she said.
"It'd be nice if we could tell you, but there's no specific characteristics," she said. "It could be the nerdy guy sitting next to you, it could be the tall blond, blue-eyed guy."
Students should be aware that even if they have known someone a long time, that person could still be capable of rape, she said.
If any student feels they are the victim of rape and are not sure what to do, Rape Crisis is available 24 hours a day at 342-RAPE.
Assault
Many students host open house parties to celebrate the commencement of the school year, which can leave them at risk.
Police have noticed an increase in "criminal types" on the west side of town, which starts at campus to Ninth Street and stretches from Salem Street to Nord Avenue, said Lt. Mike Weber of the Chico Police Department.
When open parties are blended with a gang presence, high numbers of people walking around and heavy drinking it creates situations where people can get hurt, he said.
Students can help decrease crime and protect themselves by keeping parties small and contained, Weber said.
"The last few years I've noticed an explosion of the beer pong thing," he said. "It's typically located in the front yard, which is one of the worst things you can do."
Drinking in large groups curbside is an invitation for people you don't want at your house, Weber said. And music that can be heard from blocks away attracts strangers.
"It's like mosquitoes to a light bulb," Weber said.
And party crashers can be more than unwelcome, they can be dangerous.
Stabbings are not unusual, Weber said, and it's all related to alcohol.
Weber thinks if students worked as police officers for just six months there would be a decrease in drinking activity, he said.
"When you see someone who's been hit in the head with a bottle and can't walk right for the rest of their life or you respond to a stabbing, you realize it's not worth it," he said.
Nicole can be reached at
featureseditor@theorion.com
Be the first to comment on this story