A Horrible Story about College Kids Drinking at the Beach and Death
On October 28, 2007, a group of college students went to the beach for the weekend. Seven South Carolina college students never went back to school. Never went back to their families. Never had a chance to graduate from college, get married, have children or take another breath. They were having a fun weekend in Ocean Isle Beach, NC, but that weekend turned to tragedy when a fire ripped through the beach house where they were staying.
At first the District Attorney Rex Gore told the media that drinking did not contribute to the students deaths. As a mother and as a college teacher, I found this very hard to believe at the time. College kids are about "the partying." They are proud of partying. Its their reason for getting together in way too many circumstances. As a woman who has been around people when they were drinking heavily and when they passed out, I wondered what would happen to someone if they were passed out and a fire started. My logic told me that they might not be aware enough to wake up, to respond quickly, to save themselves. They might not physically be able to save themselves. But those were my memories of seeing people in that condition. So I had no proof, but I sure doubted the conclusions made by the District Attorney.
Months later, Dr. John Butts said in an email to The Associated Press that it was "reasonable and logical" to consider that alcohol contributed to the deaths. He said that six of the seven had high alcohol levels, ranging from .16 to .29 percent. One student who died had no alcohol in her system.
So, what does that type of alcohol do to a young person.
Research conducted by the University of Notre Dame and Virginia Tech shows that people with a blood-alcohol level of .15 to .20 have the equivalent of a half-pint of whiskey in their blood stream. Those with that level of alcohol have difficulty talking, walking or standing and can experience blackouts. At .20, according to Ed Harmon, a person feels confused, dazed and disoriented and may not feel any injuries. At .25, he said, a person experiences "severe motor impairment." More details on this study can be found at greenvilleonline.com
Six USC students and one Clemson University student died in that fire. Six students survived.
This article is not about blaming the students. They were the victims of today’s society. We condemn drinking and driving. We condemn alcohol and drug abuse. But we laugh when we hear about our kids partying. We support their joining frat houses and we know darn well that they are drinking non-stop. But they are just kids, right? They are just partying, right? They are just having fun, right?
Yep! But they are Dying. They ARE drinking and driving. They are on the roads with alcohol and they are crashing and burning.
Moms, Dads - take this seriously. Keep your kids alive so you can celebrate their graduation, their marriage, your grandchildren. This isn’t someone else’s problem. It is yours.
