Volume 125 Issue 54
kansan.com
Wednesday. November 28, 2012
HALF-LIT
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
The concept of pregaming has become more popular because people do not wanting to pay more for drinks when they go out. According to the Los Angeles Times, college students who are ages 18 to 24 drink more than those who are the same age and not in college.
GETTING PRIMED
Pregaming, a fixture in a college student's night out, comes with certain risks
REBEKKA SCHLICHTING
rschlichting@kansan.com
He said he would rather spend time with his friends than getting drunk.
After he turned 21, Joey Berger, a junior from Lawrence, said he decided to stop pregaming and started drinking more socially.
Pregaming, or drinking before going out, is most common with
underage college students and leads to risky behavior, said Jenny Donham, health educator at Watkins Memorial Health
"They're finding all different kinds of things about themselves including their response to alcohol."
Addiction specialists believe
between 65 percent and 75 percent of college-aged people take part in pregaming, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Students in college between the ages of 18 and 24 drink more than individuals who are the same age and not in college. Donham said. There's a social expectation to drink in excess while in college.
"There are social influences to promote pregaming," said Joey
Berger, a junior from Lawrence. "You can't drink when you're underage and at a place."
Donham said pregaming is more common with underage students because of a limited availability of alcohol, smaller work load in lower-level courses and an introduction to new freedoms.
"They're testing their own boundaries," Donham said. "They're finding all different kinds
JENNY DONHAM Health Educator
"It's way cheaper to pregame at your house, get a little tipsy and then get to wherever you're going," Manoogian said. "Sometimes
of things about themselves, including their response to alcohol. Some people's experience is such that they decide that they don't like it. Other people
Some people, like Nick Manoogian, a senior from Farmington Hills, Mich., believe that pregaming is a way for them to save money.
get caught up in the partying atmosphere which includes pregaming."
it works, but sometimes you just keep drinking."
Manoogian said pregaming is a good time to start planning out the night. Kolton Kontour, a junior from Augusta, said he pregames to start the night and lighten the mood.
"It's almost like building up to the climax," Kontour said. "It's the start, and then you go to have a few drinks, then more and more. Finally you wind down and go home for the night."
She advises that people eat before they drink, have a plan before they get drunk and keep track of how many drinks they are consuming.
According to CBS News, a study done in Switzerland found that college-aged individuals who drank while they were out had an 18-percent chance of having a negative consequence.
However, according to the survey, people who pregame before going out overall had a 24 percent chance of a negative consequence.
Pregaming can often go against planning protective behaviors, Donham said.
People can often fall into the whiteboard effect, which allows
How to have a safe night out:
- Alternate non-alcoholic beverages
- with alcoholic beverage
- Stay hydrated
- Stay hydrated
- Avoid binge drinking
- Eat a meal within two hours of drinking
- Keep track of all alcoholic drinks consumed
- Never leave a drink unattended
- Sip slowly
- Sip slowly
- Drink socially, like an adult
- Plan ahead for a safe way to and from the destination
- Stay with friends
- Take advantage of resources such as Safe Ride and Safe Bus
individuals to forget their pregame drinking and start recounting, she said.
"I've made bad decisions while drinking, but most of the time that was not when I pregamed; it was when I was drinking there." Berger said.
Edited by Allison Kohn
Fashion show displays culture
CAMPUS
REBEKKA SCHLICHTING
rschlighting@kansan.com
International culture and fashion will collide during the World Fashion Show at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Kansas Union Ballroom.
Student Union Activities' cultural programming committee, which formed last spring, is hosting the event. The Bangladesh Student Association, the African Students Association, the Black Student Union, the Asian Ameri-
rschlichting@kansan.com
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
"The models will either be wearing a Qi Pao, a traditional Chinese dress, or an An Dai, a traditional Vietnamese dress," said Stacy Mar, president of Asian American Student Union. "Both are generally worn on special occasions, such as weddings, social functions and ceremonies."
can Student Union, the Hispanic American Leadership Organization and the Arab Student Union are participating in the show.
The event will feature a runway
show, where students can show off their traditional or contemporary cultural attire, followed by a talent show. Two students from the Asian American Student Union will be singing a popular Chinese song called "You Exist in My Song," by Wanting Qu.
"We want others to see that all music is beautiful regardless of origin," Mar said. "It may not be the next 'Gangnam Style', but it's definitely worth listening to, especially from these two wonderful singers."
The show is free for students with a KU ID and $5 for the general population.
"To be able to get their nanes out there and be more visible to people will help the organizations to be more well-known and well-established," said Valerie Peterson, assistant coordinator for the event.
Edited by Joanna Hlavacek
Senate to discuss new campus entities
NIKKI WENTLING
nwentling@kansan.com
In its last full meeting of the semester, Student Senate will see two bills that would create new entities within the Senate structure. The final meeting of the
semester will take place today at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at 6:30 p.m. Here's a closer look at the major items that will be discussed.
STUDENT SURVEY BOARD
The authors of this bill said they want this to be an avenue to get more input from students.
The Student Survey Board would conduct focus groups and survey students to get their opinions on Senate initiatives and expenditures.
Will Easley, one of the authors of the bill, said that only a small portion of the student body votes in elections, so this would give a larger number of students the opportunity to have their voices heard.
"We thought we needed to reach out more and have a greater number of students have a say in how their money is spent, because fees are a sizeable chunk of money," Easley said.
The board would be required to conduct at least one survey per semester and report its findings to the full Senate.
Easley also said this would be a good way for senators to receive input on platform issues.
"Students can say, 'Hey, this is what we want out of the University,'" Easley said. "And whoever decides to run on that platform will have a great advantage."
Bolton
The bill passed the Student Rights Committee meeting on Nov. 14, but not without some discussion. Easley said that a few people were concerned that the only people who would participate in the surveys would be those who voted in the Student Senate election; therefore, input would not be heard from more students. The concerned parties said that this was the case at other universities.
"A lot of universities do not have a specific board whose only responsibility is to survey the student body," Easley said. "I think this is much more sustainable; if there is a problem and if we have low turnout, the board can kick around ideas. I didn't see that as a concern."
JUDICIAL REVIEW BOARD
This bill would replace the Court of Appeals, a separate entity from Student Senate, with the Judicial Review Board, which would be under a committee. The student body president appointed five members of the Court of Appeals. Under this bill, the president would appoint three members of the Judicial Review Board, and one nonsenator from each of the four committees would join.
Alex Rippberger and Tyler Childress, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences senators and authors of the bill, said these changes would connect the board with Senate, allowing the board to be more active.
"The senators don't know what the Court of Appeals is
doing, and we don't know what they're doing, so they only do things they absolutely have to, which is rare," Rippberger said. "It would give the board more of an authority and make senators more responsible and the rules clearer."
Hannah Bolton, student body president, will speak against the bill at today's meeting. Bolton said that the board should remain independent from Student Senate and that committee members the proposed board
on the proposed board would be biased.
"With the guidelines the Court of Appeals currently has, it is much more objective than this because the Judicial Review Board would bring in people who are involved in the Senate process," Bolton said.
Childress said he and Rippberger made some changes since the committee meetings two weeks ago. They included a stipulation that mandates the absence of Judicial Review Board members in a hearing if they saw the bill in question during a committee meeting.
Childress and Rippberger said they are pushing the bill in order to give the board more legitimacy. However, Bolton said she does not see the need to change the current guidelines.
"They do what they're supposed to do now," she said. "I don't think it should be replaced."
"We've added the language in to alleviate the concerns of the student body president that they might be biased." Childress said.
POSTSECRET
Student Senate will look at a bill to fund a project by Active Minds at the University. The student group wants to purchase access to the "PostsecretU" blog, where students can make their own Postsecret notes and post them online.
The bill passed the Finance Committee meeting on Nov.14. The request was originally for $755, but the sum was decreased to $235 during the committee meeting.
The group would like to put this in action for next semester.
"KU Active Minds wishes to improve the social growth of the students at KU by offering a blog where they can share their secrets, and this would allow every student to anonymously share their secrets and be liberated through a very successful and popular blog," the bill reads.
Edited by Christy Khamphilay
CLASSIFIEDS 7
CROSSWORD 4
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
SPURTS 8
SUDJKU 4
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
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