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THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KAN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009
A SHOT OF REALITY
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Part1 Life and death of Jason Wren
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 146
Part 2: Examining alcohol use on campus
Part 3: Are KU's policies sufficient?
"Drinking in Lawrence is an epidemic."
EXCESSIVE AND ACCEPTED
Garry Stidham, a Johnson County Community College student transferring to the University of Kansas in the fall, celebrates his 21st birthday April 17 at Jazzhaus, a popular bar in downtown Lawrence. Factors such as a constant comingling of those who are of legal drinking age and those who are not, massive amounts of alcohol advertising and inexpensive midweek drink specials contribute to a drinking culture in Lawrence that is sometimes seen as excessive.
Lawrence, KU culture may contribute to students' high levels of alcohol consumption
BY KEVIN HARDY AND ADAM SAMSON khardy@kansan.com and asamson@kansan.com
Slouched into his couch, the KU senior laughed about his early efforts to make fake IDs for his friends. It sometimes took him four or five attempts to get it right, using a home printer and lamination papers he bought online for 25 cents apiece.
"Now I can make a flawless one on the first time," said the Southeast Kansas senior, who asked to remain anonymous because of the incriminating nature of his actions.
He eventually made a profit by selling knock-off Oklahoma driver's licenses, which don't have a hologram. But he said his initial motivation for making the IDs wasn't for the money; he just wanted to
WHAT IS BINGE DRINKING? The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person's blood alcohol concentration to 0.08 or above. This typically occurs when men consume five or more drinks, and when women consume four or more drinks, in a row.
bring friends with him to the Lawrence bars.
"I get to college and I am a lot older than all of my friends," he recalled. "So, when I turn 21 I'm able to go out, but it's not very much fun going and hanging out at the bars by yourself. So I had to devise some way for my friends to come and have fun with me."
In Lawrence, fake IDs often help un
derage students get alcohol. But not an students go to such lengths. They don't need to. Many find that the easiest access to alcohol comes simply from of-age friends who can legally buy booze for others at liquor stores.
Both means appear evident in the case of Wien Wren, the 19-year-old freshman from Littleton, Colo., who died March 8 after a night of heavy drinking. According to police, Wren used a fake ID to buy margaritas at a local restaurant. Afterward, Wren continued to drink at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house, downing 10 to 12 beers, boxed wine and whiskey before going to bed, said people who were with him that night.
Most KU students don't drink as much on a regular basis as Wren did that night. But with 20 bars and more than 40 restaurants that serve alcohol, Lawrence is known as a drinking town where girls make "shot books" on their 21st birthdays.
taking 21 shots and keeping a page for each shot; where guys chug whole beers through beer bongs; where beer pong and other drinking games are commonplace at student parties; and where bar specials on weeknights bring students out in large numbers. These and other factors contribute to a culture that celebrates excessive alcohol consumption.
A 2006 study by the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) surveyed a representative sample of students from 117 colleges, including more than 1,500 KU students. The study asked students whether they had drank five or more alcoholic drinks in a single setting three to five times within the past two weeks. KU students said yes at nearly twice the national average, 21 percent compared with
SEE A SHOT OF REALITY ON PAGE 4A
@KANSAN.COM For more coverage from this three-part series, including interactive media, visit Kansan.com.
See the entire three-part series about alcohol use on and around campus.
A SHOT OF REALITY
DRINKING TRENDS
Take a quiz to find out how much you know about national and KU trends.
HOUSE PARTIES
Online video interviews give insight into the partying experience in Lawrence.
FUNERAL
Mourners gather for Hawkins' service
BY ALEXANDRA GARRY
agarry@kansan.com
morning.
A grieving crowd filled Crossroads Christian Church in Shawne on Tuesday to remember Dalton Hawkins, a Shawnee freshman who was found dead outside Watkins Scholarship Hall on Friday
"Cherish the memories," Brad Fangman, pastor, said. Fangman spoke strongly, repeating a message of the hope and healing he tried to share with the large audience.
Hawkins
— the 18-year-old, straight-A student, loving son and brother, and devoted cyclist — "Big D," as they called him.
Fangman spoke of memories he called a "blessing from God" and recommended that family and friends hold on to the memories of good times with their loved one
SEE FUNERAL ON PAGE 3A
BY DAVID UGARTE
dugarte@kansan.com
CAMPUS
Panel to discuss being gay in USA'
Jeremy Adkison, an activities coordinator for Queers and Allies, organized
Coming out can be a challenge, no matter what generation someone is a part of.
organized a panel to discuss topics such as equal marriage rights, hate crime legislation, coming out to parents and even to children.
The panel, which will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in Alderson Auditorium
What: Gay in the USA
When:
7 p.m.
Thursday
**Where:**
Alderson
Auditorium,
Kansas
Union
**Cost:** Free
in the Kansas Union, is called "Gay in the USA"
Adkison, Leavenworth sophomore, called the discussion an "intergenerational speaker's panel" and said the purpose was to have an open conversation with gay people of different ages about issues that were important
SEE CAMPUS ON PAGE 3A
index
Classifieds...4B Opinion...7A
Crossword...6A Sports...1B
Horoscopes...6A Sudoku...6A
BLUE JAYS BLOW OUT ROYALS IN KC,8-1
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
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