2008 Woodie Awards
Beta Theta Pi hosts Health and Safety Fair to educate students
Mark Bell
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: News
Beta Theta Pi Fraternity held a Health and Safety Fair and Alcohol Awareness event on Wednesday to educate students about the risks associated with drinking and driving.
Students wore "drunk goggles," which simulated the effects of being under the influence of alcohol, while they swerved their way through an obstacle course set up by Beta Theta Pi on the Keathley University Center Knoll.
Members of Beta Theta Pi, along with representatives from the MTSU Police Department and The President's Commission on the Status of Women, circulated materials with information on alcohol abuse, substance abuse as it relates to sexual assault, binge drinking and the link between drinking and STDs.
Mitch Baker, Beta Theta Pi chapter president and an organizer of the event, outlined why he thought the event is important to all involved.
"This event is important because it will help educate people on the effects that alcohol has," Baker said. "Many [college students] do not realize how fatal it can be when [mixing] drinking and driving."
Baker said he hopes the event will help cut down on the amount of alcohol related accidents in the MTSU area.
"Many people do not realize how impaired they are when drinking, and this event will educate people on it and perhaps change some minds about actions taken while drinking," Baker said.
The event is aimed at a campus where liquor law, public drunkenness and DUI violations were among the highest substance violations reported in 2007, according to statistics from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's most recent Crime on Campus report.
MTSU also ranked highest among the 19 Tennessee Board of Regents schools when comparing the number of students convicted of substance-related crimes. The statistics were even higher than the University of Memphis, which has a slightly larger overall student population in the report.
Sergeant Steve Scott of the MTSU Police Department said he was not suprised by the statistics.
"There are a number of factors that contribute to the numbers found in those statistics," Scott said. "Underreporting on the behalf of other campuses and the fact that we have younger officers that are more aggressive in their reporting of [substance] crimes are two examples."
Scott said a good way to cut back on the amount of problems associated with substance crimes, especially on Greek Row, is for presidents of those fraternities and sororities to lead by example.
"What's wrong with being the first frat on campus to not allow underage recruits to indulge in alcohol?" Scott said. "Doing so would set a higher standard for all the Greek and other student organizations, and would definitely help the organizations reputation."
Students wore "drunk goggles," which simulated the effects of being under the influence of alcohol, while they swerved their way through an obstacle course set up by Beta Theta Pi on the Keathley University Center Knoll.
Members of Beta Theta Pi, along with representatives from the MTSU Police Department and The President's Commission on the Status of Women, circulated materials with information on alcohol abuse, substance abuse as it relates to sexual assault, binge drinking and the link between drinking and STDs.
Mitch Baker, Beta Theta Pi chapter president and an organizer of the event, outlined why he thought the event is important to all involved.
"This event is important because it will help educate people on the effects that alcohol has," Baker said. "Many [college students] do not realize how fatal it can be when [mixing] drinking and driving."
Baker said he hopes the event will help cut down on the amount of alcohol related accidents in the MTSU area.
"Many people do not realize how impaired they are when drinking, and this event will educate people on it and perhaps change some minds about actions taken while drinking," Baker said.
The event is aimed at a campus where liquor law, public drunkenness and DUI violations were among the highest substance violations reported in 2007, according to statistics from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's most recent Crime on Campus report.
MTSU also ranked highest among the 19 Tennessee Board of Regents schools when comparing the number of students convicted of substance-related crimes. The statistics were even higher than the University of Memphis, which has a slightly larger overall student population in the report.
Sergeant Steve Scott of the MTSU Police Department said he was not suprised by the statistics.
"There are a number of factors that contribute to the numbers found in those statistics," Scott said. "Underreporting on the behalf of other campuses and the fact that we have younger officers that are more aggressive in their reporting of [substance] crimes are two examples."
Scott said a good way to cut back on the amount of problems associated with substance crimes, especially on Greek Row, is for presidents of those fraternities and sororities to lead by example.
"What's wrong with being the first frat on campus to not allow underage recruits to indulge in alcohol?" Scott said. "Doing so would set a higher standard for all the Greek and other student organizations, and would definitely help the organizations reputation."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 3
Joseph
posted 4/03/08 @ 12:04 PM CST
Am I the only person who finds it ironic that Beta Theta Pi, the Greek organization that allowed a 19-year-old to drink (and then be smashed over the head with a pool stick which left him in Vanderbilt Medical Center), sponsored a "Alcohol Awareness event?"
That said, I believe Sergeant Scott was correct in his assertion that Greek Organizations should lead by example, which has apparently not been the case for Beta Theta Pi. (Continued…)
Jen
posted 4/07/08 @ 12:47 AM CST
How shallow minded must we be to assume that all Beta's are alcoholic idiots and could not possibly want to do something for the good of the students of this campus. (Continued…)
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