WEEK TAKES AIM AT COLLEGE DRINKERS

Susan Frain hopes Southeast Missouri State University students don't take Alcohol Awareness Week literally.

As the school's substance abuse prevention and education coordinator, she wants students to think about the problems of alcohol abuse year-round.

Frain admits she sometimes feels like she is swimming upstream in a culture where drinking historically has been a part of college life.

"I feel like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike," she said.

Already this semester, about 60 students have been assigned to alcohol-abuse classes for violations on the dry campus. Some of the cases date back to last spring.

It is illegal for students to drink or possess alcoholic beverages anywhere on campus or in their residence hall rooms, even if they are 21.

Next week is Alcohol Awareness Week at college campuses nationwide, and a number of programs have been scheduled throughout the week at Southeast.

The week will start with a visit to the campus Friday by the Grim Reaper.

A member of the Southeast chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America will dress as the Grim Reaper and arrive via hearse in front of Academic Hall at 11:50 a.m. He will journey across campus, visiting the University Center, Towers complex and other buildings.

The reaper will hand out about 100 T-shirts promoting alcohol awareness. A number of Cape Girardeau businesses are helping to sponsor the event, including a beer distributor.

"Our organization is not condemning drinking," said David Christy of Scott City, president of the public relations society. "We are not asking you to stop drinking, of course. We are just asking you to be careful and be aware."

Christy, 29-year-old mass communication major, said students shouldn't drink and drive, adding: "When you drink and you drive, you may die."

About 25,000 people die each year in alcohol-related accidents.

Among the awareness week events are two informational programs. Jeffery Harms, who was seriously injured while driving drunk, will speak about head and spinal-cord injuries. Harms, who works at St. Francis Medical Center, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Crisp Hall Room 125.

Darlene Ford of the Family Counseling Center will speak at noon Wednesday in the University Center about women and alcohol.

Other events include a mocktail party and a volleyball tournament with the theme "serve the ball and not the alcohol."

The week will conclude Friday with the breaking of a beer-shaped pinata filled with taxi coupons, candy and condoms.

Frain said all college students aren't heavy drinkers. About 30 percent of America's college students seldom drink.

Frain said the issue really isn't whether students drink, but how much they drink.

"A lot of students talk about drinking to get drunk," said Frain who teaches a required class for students who have been found guilty by the school of alcohol violations.

So far this semester, Frain has held three classes involving a total of 27 students. All but four were men.

She recalled telling one of the classes about going out to dinner and having just two drinks.

"One of my students said nobody drinks like that," Frain said.

Alcohol abuse can lead to many problems, including serious traffic accidents, she said.

People who drink are more likely to have unprotected sex, putting them at risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases.

Heavy drinking also can affect students' grades. Some students drop out of school because of it, Frain said.