By CANDACE MIERS

clm049@latech.edu

 

A life is stolen, zipped up into a body bag and never to be seen again. It’s a friend, a relative or just another sad story because someone decided to drink and drive.

Drunken driving is an issue which has been scrutinized for many years across America. Now, in Ruston, the issue has become even more personal because of the death of two Grambling State University students killed in an alcohol-related automobile accident on Interstate 20 on Oct. 14.

“I think it is easy to just say ‘don’t drink and drive,’ but perhaps the best tool is when sad events like an accident happen and people think to themselves, ‘That could have been me,’” Joakima Mayes, a Tech alumni and a former member of the Student Speakers Bureau, said.

Last fall, the SSB surveyed 1,535 freshmen students with the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test during their university seminar class.

The results of the test showed 186 of those students, or 13 percent, admitted to having driven after drinking alcohol.

“Though this statistic is from a sample of Tech students, it is disturbing when you think about the number of drivers out on the road at any given time in any town or city,” Megan Shoemaker, a member of SSB and a junior speech pathology major, said.

“Drivers already have enough to worry about on the road, like arriving at their destination on time or just the stress of everyday life,” she said. “When you add the potential danger of being on the road with an impaired driver, the act of driving becomes that much more dangerous.”

A danger which Kelsey Atkins, a member of the SSB and a junior psychology major, said is possible to prevent.

“I feel there is no excuse to drink and drive,” she said. “If you plan on drinking, then arrange for someone to be the designated driver or have a few people in mind you can call for a ride.”

Kelli Gremillion, an SSB member and a senior family and child studies and Spanish major, said plans should be made in advance.

“People under the influence don’t always make the best decisions so arrangements should be made before,” she said. “Then a plan needs to be set into action to make those plans impossible to break.”

There are also other options besides a designated driver, Kyle O’Neal, a junior history and speech communication major, said.

“Driving drunk is the dumbest thing you can do when there are always better options like sleeping over where you are drinking, calling a cab or not drinking at all,” O’Neal said.

He said he is not telling people not to drink, but if it their choice, it should be done responsibly.

“No good can ever come out of drinking and driving, but it can label you for the rest of your life,” O’Neal said.

Drunken driving, besides labeling a person for life, can also lead to DWI’s, revoked licenses, a loss of thousands of dollars because of fines and lawyers, jail time and even death, he said.

“Last year I lost two of my good friends, two weeks apart from one another, because of drunk drivers,” Robert Endler, a member of SSB and a senior accounting and sociology major, said.

Atkins said she understands lives other than the intoxicated driver’s are affected because of poor decisions.

She said, “By drinking and driving you are not only endangering your own life, but you are risking the lives of the people riding with you and you are putting everyone else on the road in possible danger.”

Dan Wahl, an SSB member and a senior psychology major, said he concurs with Atkins about putting other people at risk when driving drunk.

“You can’t go through life denying your sphere of influence; decisions you make have very real effects on others,” Wahl said. “The fact you have ceased to be aware of your responsibilities doesn’t negate them.

“I’ve had more than a few good friends die in drunken driving accidents, and every time I’m struck by how preventable and senseless these kinds of accidents really are.”

A fact Endler said he offers options to his friends who choose to drink.

He said, “I always tell my friends if they are going to drink that they can give me a call no matter what time it is because I would rather pick them up than go to their funeral.”

A memorial service was held for Marquist McCray and Marcus D. Watson, the GSU students involved in the alcohol-related accident, Monday.