siuDE.com

Barb Elam said she wouldn't begrudge SIUC students a good time - she just wants them to celebrate cautiously.

Elam, coordinator at the Wellness Center, along with a group of SIUC students and staff joined Carbondale community members Thursday in an effort to raise awareness about the risks associated with alcohol and holding parties. The group left plastic bags containing information on legal issues and health risks associated with partying on doorknobs in Carbondale's Arbor District.

Elam said the focus of the informational campaign was on house parties - those who hold them and those that attend. Party-related incidents land many students in legal trouble, Elam said, so the organizers included information on Carbondale's city ordinances and tips for avoiding trouble with the police in the bags.

"We wanted to make sure people know what the laws are," she said.

Selling alcohol without a license - directly or by taking donations - is illegal in Carbondale, as is allowing a person younger than 21 years old to drink alcohol at a residence, said Steve Rogers, director of Students' Legal Assistance.

Because the burden of proof for prosecuting city ordinance tickets is lower than for state cases, students rarely succeed in fighting alcohol-related tickets in Carbondale, Rogers said.

Fines for alcohol-related offenses often amount to hundreds of dollars and can have more long-term consequences, Rogers said.

"If a student gets a conviction for underage possession or consumption - or even false ID or letting someone else use their ID - that will be reported to the state and they will lose their driver's license for a year," Rogers said.

The Students' Legal Assistance Office, located on the third floor of the Student Center, offers students legal advice and represents them in some cases.

Pete Lynch, a Phi Sigma Kappa member who lives on Poplar Street, said several of the bags of information were delivered to his house, but he doubted most recipients would take the intended message seriously.

"Stuff like this, who looks at it really," he said pointing to one of the bags.

Most students that would read the information either already drink responsibly or don't drink at all, said Lynch, a senior from Ohio majoring in university studies.

"I drink a fair amount but my GPA hasn't suffered because of it," he said. "I haven't lost any friends from it - I still have my driver's license."

Zac Edwards, who lives on West College Street, said those going to and from house parties and bars frequent the sidewalk outside his house.

"It's nuts, sometimes," said Edwards, a junior from Danville studying marketing.

Despite the high traffic, Edwards said he has noticed relatively little alcohol-related destruction or other problems near his house since his lease started in August.

Abby Gaffey, a graduate assistant at the Wellness Center, said many new students don't realize there are any consequences to drinking in a college town.

"They think they're out there free and can do whatever they want," Gaffey said.

Daily Egyptian writer Joe Crawford can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 254 or jcrawford@siude.com.

Article Tools