Ah yes, “everyone’s” favorite pseudo-holiday. For the majority of unofficial, most people were carrying on with their lives as they normally do. They were most likely studying or doing homework in preparation for the upcoming midterm. You know, the reason we are all here…for an education?

Do not get me wrong, everyone needs the chance to loosen up and have some fun. But “black out or back out” is not a healthy mindset. This makes me think about why we do not have an alcohol education class? It seems like it would be common sense that this is not a healthy way to consume alcohol, but apparently not. 

But what does this big party have on students’ performance this week? Well, my guess is hangovers will probably still be looming if you partied all weekend. People were probably not studying or doing homework, so there are probably a couple of late grades among party goers.

There are a lot of things that cross my mind when thinking about this past weekend. A lot of my thoughts are around who are the people who were unknowingly harming themselves? How many drinks were vengefully spiked or contaminated? This is what scares me. Not to mention that alcohol poisoning can easily come on with multiple strong drinks.  

But how many people know what to do in those emergency situations? If someone were to black out and become unresponsive, who would know how to respond? That is what scares me more. Before people go out and party to the point where they black out, I hope and pray that their friends know what to do if they are to be thrown into an emergency. 

We all got the basic D.A.R.E. or Lion’s Quest curriculum forced on us during our school years, but they focus on just abstaining from drinking at all. You cannot expect all students are not going to drink during their college years. Some know how to control their drinking, and some do not. That is why we need more education about what to do when drinking and during a situation where someone’s life is in danger.  

If someone is blacked out on the ground, people probably do not know what to do because all they were taught is not to drink. That obviously does not help save a life or keep the person alive long enough for professional help.  

Education is power. Education is knowing what to do in a situation. That is why it is important to educate young drinkers, not to tell people they should never drink, but how to drink responsibly and how to handle situations. We do not need the mandated videos that we are all required to do at the beginning of the year. We need hands-on training for real situations.  

A video will not increase the knowledge of how to save a life, but a hands-on approach will increase understanding and will therefore make students prepared to handle real life emergencies. 

Ellen Dooley is a Sophomore Special Education Standard Major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at emdooley@eiu.edu