Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 15, 1994 TAG: 9410260051
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
\ Saturday night in Blacksburg. Surely there's something to do besides swig beer.
Operating on the theory that there is - for a whole week of days and nights, in fact - Virginia Tech hosts Alcohol Awareness Week, Sunday through next Saturday. The week comes amid heightened concern from some administrators about drinking on and around campus.
"Clearly, from my perspective, [drinking] is the major problem as it relates to the welfare of students at Virginia Tech," said Tom Goodale, vice president for student affairs.
"The fact of the matter is, students here drink too much."
Last month, 50 students were arrested at the West Virginia football game for drinking-related behavior, Goodale said. The arrests for the night game were in contrast to the handful at last Saturday's Homecoming game against Temple University, which stared at 1 p.m., Lt. Jim Woods of the Virginia Tech police said.
"The students probably slept late, didn't have classes, and didn't have the opportunity to drink," Woods said.
Still, worries about student drinking have administrators thinking about whether they'll ban camp-outs for those waiting in line to buy football tickets. Goodale's also planning a seminar for administrators about student drinking later this month. He may propose new policies that strictly tighten student alcohol violation rules.
"We are not happy about the behavior we saw at the West Virginia game, and we are not happy about the behavior outside the coliseum waiting for tickets," said Tech spokesman Larry Hinker. "We plan to correct it."
As far as Goodale's concern, drinking has worsened "markedly" since his arrival in 1988. At the moment, he said, alcohol is behind a whopping 85 percent of the cases that come before the school's judicial board, he said.
"Everything from vandalism to fisticuffs to assaults," said Goodale, who less than two weeks ago sent a freshman home for his second drinking-related offense. The young man had consumed a quarter-gallon of bourbon.
"It is the social elixer of those problems."
To counter the widespread use of alcohol at social events, alcohol awareness week planners have set up a slate of activities.
"We're hoping that if we get the word out and there's a good turnout, people will have fun and [we'll get] more funds to do this," the week's coordinator, Linda Hoover, said.
Alcohol awareness week activities
Rappelling clinic. Noon, Sunday. Sponsored by the Corps of Cadets Ranger Co. Call 231-7780 for required registration.
9-Ball Tournament. Noon, Sunday. Sponsored by the Squires Recreation Center, Squires Recreation Lounge. $4.
Spades Tournament. 6 p.m., Monday. Sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta. Squires 116.
Monday Night Football board game. 7:30 p.m. Monday. Squires Recreation Lounge.
Health Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday. Sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs Wellness Committee. War Memorial Hall.
LOVETALK, a seminar on negotiating greater intimacy and communicating in sexual situations. 7 p.m. Tuesday. Sponsored by Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge. Squires 341-345.
Moonlight Bowling. 9 p.m. Wednesday. Sponsored by Squires Recreation Center in Squires Bowling Lanes. $3.
"All-Nighter" of activities, ranging from basketball and innertube water polo tournaments to aerobics and body fat analysis. 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday, Sponsored by Department of Recreational Sports. Call 231-6856.
"Friendship in the Age of AIDS." A discussion by T.J. Sullivan and Joel Goldman. 7 p.m. Oct. 24, Commonwealth Ballroom in Squires.
For further information about any of the events, call 231-7780.
by CNB