Symbolizing the silenced : A look back at Alcohol Awareness Week
Georgia Gay, Staff Writer
During the first week of March, North Greenville University recognized Alcohol Awareness Week. The purpose was to show the serious consequences of alcohol. The danger behind the abuse of alcohol can severely affect college students. Even at NGU, alcohol-related problems exist and have an impact on the lives of students around campus.
As a way to get the message across about the consequences of alcohol, 18 students at NGU were selected to dress in all white and not speak for the majority of an entire day. These selected students, also known as “ghosts,” symbolized those that were silenced by alcohol. Each “ghost” represented 100 college-aged students who have died due to alcohol abuse.
One student that was involved, Laura Shoop, can attest to the difficulty of not talking for the majority of the day whilst wearing only white.
Laura Shoop was a “ghost” during Alcohol Awareness Week at NGU.
“It was hard to not talk because I am super talkative,” said Shoop. “However, it really demonstrated the importance of what alcohol can do to a person.”
The University also held a series of awareness projects, such as the golf cart activity that allowed students to experience what it is like to drive while under the influence.
This demonstration, along with other methods, were used to stress the importance of being responsible. Even though alcohol is a school violation and can lead to a student being dismissed, that may be the least of what could happen.
“The awareness projects during the week were designed to plant seeds and get students to think about what they read, saw and experienced in order to hopefully prevent someone from making a life changing or altering mistake,” said Director of Student Services Billy Watson.
“Alcohol not only puts the individual in dangerous places, it also endangers others around you,” Watson added. “Getting students to think about the consequences for themselves and those around them is a worthy goal for this week.”
