{"id":1009,"date":"2016-03-17T12:45:13","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T17:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellness.winonastateu.com\/?p=1009"},"modified":"2021-11-05T14:52:10","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T14:52:10","slug":"st-patricks-day-you-dont-need-luck-to-be-responsible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/blog\/st-patricks-day-you-dont-need-luck-to-be-responsible\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Patrick’s Day: You Don’t Need Luck to be Responsible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Today is a day to celebrate, but\u00a0this occasion\u00a0has ended in tragedy for many due to drunk driving. One life is too many, and I know that Winona has already lost enough students due to alcohol-related deaths. According to\u00a0Traffic Safety Monitoring<\/a>, Over St. Patrick\u2019s Day from 2009 to 2013, there were a total of 276 lives lost in drunk-driving crashes in the United States.\u00a0In 2014 alone, 29 people (28% of all crash fatalities) were killed in drunk-driving crashes over the St. Patrick\u2019s Day holiday period.\u00a0Not only this, drinking also may lead into unhealthy behaviors and actions that you could regret the rest of your life. But, have no fear! If you’re of legal age to drink, being responsible and keeping yourself in check, then you can have a St. Patrick\u2019s Day that you won\u2019t forget! Here a some tips for today:<\/p>\n

Note: The\u00a0information regarding safe alcohol consumption is directed towards students of legal drinking age. Underage drinking is not only irresponsible and dangerous, it is also illegal. Also, a reminder that WSU policy does not tolerate alcohol on university grounds.<\/em><\/p>\n

You do not need alcohol to have fun!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. There are plenty of other alternatives to drinking out there! And you can have fun and be able to not regret it in the morning (and you’ll remember, too).<\/li>\n
  2. If you live in any of the residence halls or the East Lake Apartments, find out what your RA\/CA is doing in your building to give students an opportunity to have fun besides drinking.<\/li>\n
  3. Winona State also\u00a0provides plenty of club-sponsored events during this week too,\u00a0to make sure people are being safe and not getting themselves and others hurt. Take a look at the\u00a0WSU Update<\/a>\u00a0for events that are happening.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0Make sure you plan ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. This sounds simple enough, but it\u2019s often the most forgotten step out there.<\/li>\n
    2. If you are of age and plan to go out drinking, please make sure you\u2019re being responsible. Know where you\u2019re going to be, who you\u2019re going to be with and how you\u2019re going to get home.<\/li>\n
    3. The rate at which alcohol affects you varies based on factors such as alcohol content, what you are drinking, body weight, food consumption, and how fast you drink. Don\u2019t try to figure out whether you can drive after drinking-you can\u2019t.<\/li>\n
    4. Walking home from the bar after a night out partying? That can be dangerous, too. According to the CDC<\/a>, \u00a0out of the\u00a04,735 pedestrian deaths in the United States in 2013, alcohol involvement for the driver or the pedestrian was reported for 49% of these deaths. Where alcohol involvement was reported, 34% of fatal crashes involved a pedestrian killed who had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of greater than or equal to .08 grams per deciliter (g\/dL). So, be safe and get a sober friend to walk you home.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Designate a point guard<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Make sure that someone\u00a0keeps track of how much you\u2019ve had to drink.<\/li>\n
      2. Alternatively, some people like to keep pop tabs as a check, and I know some people like to take pictures with their phone. Do what will work for you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Know that police and law enforcement will be present<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Law enforcement will be on high-alert\u00a0throughout the city today, so make sure you obey the law -don\u2019t drink and drive, and don\u2019t let your friends do it, either.<\/li>\n
        2. On campus there will be extra security this St. Patrick\u2019s Day too. This isn\u2019t to get you in trouble, this is to make sure people are being safe! It\u2019s a safety precaution.<\/li>\n
        3. If you see someone driving drunk, call 911 when it\u2019s safe to do so, and give a description of the vehicle to law enforcement. According to\u00a0Traffic Safety Monitoring<\/a>, 1\/3\u00a0of all crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers, so it is your business. Getting drunk drivers off the roads saves lives!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Know who to call if an emergency arises<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. If you find a friend (or anyone) who is cold, unconscious, and\/or unresponsive. Call 911 immediately! Please, don\u2019t wait till morning!<\/li>\n
          2. If you live in the residence halls and there is any emergency, please contact the RA\/CA on duty phone numbers. They\u2019re trained to help and respond to emergencies. They may be your best bet in most situations. Being an RA on campus, I can speak for most of the other RAs in that we have had enough experience working with emergencies due to alcohol. We\u2019re not scary, and we aren\u2019t out to get you in trouble! If you don\u2019t have their number, just call 911!<\/li>\n
          3. According to\u00a0Winona State University\u2019s Alcohol and Drug Policy<\/a>, \u201cThe University recognizes that various violations of the Student Code of Conduct involve use of alcohol. The University encourages the reporting of conduct violations such as sexual assault, hazing, physical violence, harassment and others and, therefore, the University may choose not to hold students accountable for Student Code of Conduct violations related to alcohol and other drugs when a more serious violation\/crime has occurred.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Overall, make sure you\u2019re being safe, responsible and smart\u00a0on\u00a0St. Patrick\u2019s Day today! Again, you do not need alcohol to have fun. But, if you are of age and choose to drink, make sure you\u2019re keeping in mind the items discussed above. Be responsible and safe out there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Today is a day to celebrate, but\u00a0this occasion\u00a0has ended in tragedy for many due to drunk driving. One life is too many, and I know that Winona has already lost enough students due to alcohol-related deaths. According to\u00a0Traffic Safety Monitoring, Over St. Patrick\u2019s Day from 2009 to 2013, there were a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":1013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wellness-blog","category-winona"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PQJv-gh","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1009"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6778,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions\/6778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}