Cardinal Points

Issue date: 9/21/07 Section: FUSE

Media Credit: Shumpei Kishi Patti Ramey pours beer into a tub to illustrate how amounts of alcohol can add up quickly at the Last Call event held in the Warren Ballrooms on Sept 13.

Have you ever been applauded because you chose to refrain from drinking?

If not, you may have benefited from the Last Call for Alcohol. The crowd consisted of students from sports teams, sororities, fraternities, and faculty members.

The event jumped off with extreme enthusiasm from the host, Brent Scarpo.

Scarpo kept an ample amount of energy throughout the entire evening, sharing facts and allowing the audience to be involved in his presentation.

At first glance, the presentation appeared to be some sort of skit, using props of alcohol bottles and the name of the stage called the Last Call Bar.

Scarpo began with his first two drink orders, distressing stories about students from major universities becoming victims of alcohol related deaths.

For example, there was a student who drowned in the Mississippi River because he was too drunk to swim and his friends were too drunk to save him.

After these tragic stories, the crowd was silent.

Scarpo turned the frowns back into smiles as he spoke rapidly and animatedly.

"How many people have gotten drunk," he asked.

The hands went up.

The majority of the room was in favor of college drinking.

When asked if the students had ever drank and drove, there were fewer hands that went up; and even less when asked if there were any DUI (drinking under the influence) survivors in the audience.

Scarpo then asked gleefully if there were five audience members brave enough to come before the crowd and share their experiences.

The stage was then lined with students whose lives were in some way changed due to receiving a DUI.

After the DUI survival stories, the host, as well as the crowd, applauded the non-drinkers in the house.

He shifted gears to discuss the amount of money it costs to drink. He had statistics to show an average of $2,000 spent on alcohol by just one college student each year.

He was strategic in his planning, breaking up the monotony of the evening with information and getting the audience involved.

The next activity was more of an actual simulation as to what would actually occur in the event that a student was pulled over for a DUI.

This involved "drunk goggles" which allow the student to see as though he or she were drunk.

The turnout for the evening was a success and it appeared that the students truly heard and understod the speaker and his friendly, humorous approach.

However, there was one student, sophomore Darrell Davis, who did not fully appreciate the advance.

"I like the idea, but it could have been approached a lot better," Davis stated. "It was meant to inform people on an issue. He was trying to make it fun but it was down-playing a serious issue."

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