GRIM REAPER CONDEMNS BOOZING

The Grim Reaper warned against alcohol abuse Friday at Southeast Missouri State University.

But students said the stunt would do little to affect college drinking.

The reaper, dressed in black and armed with a fake scythe, arrived by hearse in front of Academic Hall shortly before noon.

He then walked across campus, touching students with the scythe and handing out about 100 black T-shirts with the message: "If you think alcohol doesn't affect you, you're dead wrong."

The event, sponsored by the Southeast chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, began Alcohol Awareness Week.

The reaper caught the attention of students. Many, however, seemed more interested in the T-shirt than the message.

"I don't think it slows the drinking down at all," said senior Morgan Mundell of Carthage after the reaper visited him during lunch in the Greek dining center.

Across the cafeteria, the reaper greeted Chad Mace, a junior from Ballwin.

Mace said the reaper might make students think about alcohol abuse.

But he said, "It is not going to stop me from going out and having beers."

Drinking is just part of the college scene, said Molly McMahon, a senior from St. Louis.

She said she will continue to go drinking with her friends. "It kind of goes along with being social," she said. "The more you drink, the more social you get."

The reaper's warning was welcomed by Ron Schultz as he walked in front of Academic Hall.

A 21-year-old junior from Jonesboro, Ill., Schultz doesn't drink.

He said a friend's stepdaughter was killed by a drunk driver.

Andy Lynch was the reaper for the second year in a row. Like other college students, Lynch, a Southeast senior, does his share of drinking.

He said the goal isn't to eliminate drinking, but to get students to drink responsibly.