Volume 124 Issue 43
kansan.com
Monday, October 24, 2011
NOTICE
TURNING21
It is not uncommon for the lyrics "we took too many shots" of Katy Perry's song, "Last Friday Night," to come alive on the night of a 21st birthday. With students readily taking 21 shots for their 21 years, this risky trend has become normal.
Roommates Megan Hardy, a senior from Manhattan, and Brittany Billings, a senior from Kansas City, Mo., relive their birthday night all the time by looking through drunken quotes and pictures in their shot books. Shot books are scrapbooks commemorating each of the 21 shots taken on their birthdays. Pages designed by friends list the shots taken, where, time of night and who bought the shot. Someone carries it throughout the night filling in each space.
Their shared birthday celebration started out at Cielito Lindo with margaritas and the first of the anticipated 21 shots, moved to the Hawk/Wheel area and ended at Tonic. At the end of the night, Hardy had taken 17 shots while Billings had surpassed the goal by two with 23 shots. Their strategy was carrying water bottles that they kept full the entire night.
Hardy says she remembers that night well and didn't feel that out of control. Billings threw up a few times and wouldn't have
remembered the night if she didn't have the shot book. Neither have any regrets. "It was fun," Billing says. "I'd do it again. Hell, I want to do it again for my 22nd birthday."
The "21 for 21" ritual has become the norm among college students, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association in 2008. Researchers surveyed 2,500 students at the University of Missouri to see if they drank on their 21st birthdays and if so, how much. Eighty-five percent of the students reported drinking, with 34 percent of men drinking 21 drinks or more, and 24 percent of women drinking 21 drinks or more.
Media had already emphasized the risks of 21st birthday extreme drinking, but no studies had been done to show the scary statistics, says Aesoon Park, assistant professor of psychology at Syracuse University and data analyst of the APA study. "This paper shows students had been drinking before, but their drinking reaches dangerous levels when they try to celebrate their 21st birthday."
Some of the students surveyed who drank 21 drinks didn't stop there.Men drank a maximum of 50 drinks and women drank a maximum of 30. Having four to five drinks within two hours is considered binge drinking. Park says it was really frightening to see
that 20 percent of non-drinkers drank large amounts because it was their 21st birthday.
These non-drinkers that decide to drink at extreme levels are at a high risk because of their lack of experience, says Keith Durkin, criminologist at Ohio Northern University who has published several articles on binge drinking. "They have never experienced alcohol before, so they are venturing into uncharted waters," Durkin says.
The college drinking scene has not necessarily changed too dramatically since he was a student. He knew people in the 80s who
attempted a "21 beers for 21 years" challenge "But [with] beer, it took them several hours to attempt that feat," Durkin says. "What scares me about shots is that they can be downed in a very short time. Twenty-one units of alcohol in a very short time is too much for anyone."
With alcohol poisoning as a very serious risk of this rite of passage, it is scary to see this ritual has become commonplace, says the University's Assistant Vice Provost, Kathryn Tuttle. When she was a student at Kansas, students under 21 were permitted to have beer with 3 percent alcohol or less. Students didn't have fake IDs because they were allowed to get into the bars and no one had even heard of pre-drinks or what we now call "pre-gaming."
This does not mean the drinking scene was unheard of. At this time, drinking hours were enforced and often women from Tuttle's scholarship hall would have to climb in her window on the first floor after hours, some of which were very intoxicated. Tuttle was never much of a drinker.
Tuttle accomplished her personal goal of climbing the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on her 21st birthday, something she had wanted to do for a while. "I don't think I even had any alcohol that day," Tuttle says.
Tuttle isn't saying you have to climb a mountain on your birthday, but she isn't praising blacked-out blurs that Katy Perry insists rules. "Have fun and be safe," Tuttle says. "Do something that you will remember."
lacks record accessibility
SARA SNEATH
ssneath@kansan.com
In the last 10 months, there have been four public censures of University of Kansas faculty. The first of the recent public notices occurred in December of 2010,
prior to which the University
had not censured a faculty
member since 1993.
David Guth,
an associ-
Guth
ate professor of journalism, was censured last December for engaging in unprofessional, threatening and abusive behavior toward ar
Lushington
other faculty member. Following Guth's censure, Dennis Sander, an associate professor of architecture, was censured in July on similar premises. Mahesh Visvanathan, a courtesy assistant professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer sciences, was
Hummert said the University's public censures have always been published in the University's newsletter. All four censures were an-
"The events that precipitated the censures are rare occurrences that simply happened to occur within a short time frame," said Mary Lee Hummert, University vice provost.
CLASSIFIEDS 11
CRGSSWORD 4
censured for plagiarism in October along with Gerald Lushington, a courtesy associate professor in the department of medicinal chemistry.
Index
SEE CENSURE PAGE 3
MARSHALL SCHMIDT
mschmidt@kansan.com
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
Whether it's the threat of eviction from an apartment or securing a copyright for a work of art, the office of Legal Services for Students offers critical advice, representation and education for many legal challenges students may encounter while at the University.
"We try to do preventative education, and when something does occur, we are here to help students make good choices," said Jo Hardesty, a managing attorney and the office's director since 1987.
The office began in 1979 as a campaign promise by then student body president Steve Leben, who now serves as a judge on the state's
Funded through a student fee of less than $11 per person, the office does not charge additional fees for its services, which are provided by attorneys and law students under attorney supervision. The office assists many students in settling disputes with their landlords.
"A lot of people don't know what landlords are required to provide." Hardesty said. The office sees cases in which students are living with perpetual health and safety code violations, such as electrical problems and malfunctioning fire extinguishers, that go unattended by landlords. The office helps students report anyviolations to the city and represents them in court if needed. Oftentimes these issues
Court of Appeals.
Don't forget
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
"I came and talked to one of the attorneys here, and he showed me how I can hold the landlord accountable for sub-standard conditions," Boone said. "He gave me an objective perspective about the legal context of what I was going
Alyssa Boone, a third-year law student from Wichita, works as an intern in the office and has first-hand experience with the advice that the office gives. Two years ago, an apartment leak caused property damage and she disputed the lease she had signed.
create security deposit refund disputes between tenant and landlord, which the office also deals with.
A
例
SUA is hosting Open Mic Night in the Hawk's Nest on level 1 of the Kansas Union from 7 to 9 p.m.
Forecasts done by University students. For a more detailed forecast see page 2A.
Today's Weather
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SEE LEGAL PAGE 3
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HI: 81
LO: 59
A sunny start to the week