Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Quote of the Day ‘A man takes a drink; the drink takes a drink; the drink takes the man.’ - Irish saying sy TTwn MfiRie Mi uni erCeTeR-rq C'Ditor Shamrocks, leprechauns and green beer. Those are the symbols people think of when !>t. patriek’ Bay comes to mind. §t. patriek was born circa 385 ftB. in Great Britain to wealthy parents. Although his father was a Christian deacon, there is no real evidence that his family was particularly religious. When he was 16. Irish raiders attacked his family estate, and Patrick was captured and taken pris oner. tie was brought back to Ireland where he remained for the next six years. It is not known for sure where in Ireland he was during his captivity two of the most popular theories are Mount Flem ish. in County flntrim. or County Mayo, near Killala. While he was in Ireland, he worked as a shepherd and became a devout Christian to comfort himself. patriek escaped after six years of imprisonment, tie chose that time to escape because he be lieved he heard the voice of Cod telling him to leave Ireland, tie walked to the Irish coast and es caped to Britain. When he arrived in Britain, he believed he had another revelation this one coming from an angel ' telling him to become a missionary and return to Ireland. f or the next 15 years, Patrick would study the Christian religion, tie studied in a monastery un der §t. Germain, bishop of ffoxerre. tie was sent to Ireland soon after his ordination as a priest, flis mission in Ireland was to be a minister to the Christians already living there and convert the Irish pagans to Christianity, tie was quite successful in his efforts in Ireland, during his 30 year stay in Ireland, Patrick accomplished many'things. tie was named the second bishop to Ireland, and he es tablished monestaries, churches and schools. But perhaps his best known "accomplishment” .which is partly legend, was driving the snakes out of Ireland. One of the most famous stories regarding the banishment of the snakes is that during his mis sion in Ireland. <§>t. Patrick stood upon a hilltop (now called Croagh patriek), and with only a wooden staff by his side, he banished all the snakes from Ireland. f{ variation in this story is that Patrick bulit a box and tried to convince the snake to enter it. The snake refused, and the argue ment became very intense. The snake finally entered the box to prove Patrick wrong, and he nailed the lid on the box and threw it into the ocean. Patrick retired to County ©own. and he died March 17 461.fl.©. In Ireland, the holiday has been celebrated as a religious event Jor thousands of years. In fact, up until the 1970s. all pubs were closed on §t. Patrick’s ©ay. The first §t. Patrick’s ©ay parade was held not in Ireland but in the United States on March 17. 1762. k Today, the holday is celebrated by people around the world in countries sueh as Canada, flus I tralia. Japan. Singapore and "Russia. Campus Notes RAD offers weekend class USCPD, University Housing and Uni versity Dining Services are sponsoring a Rape Aggression Defense class from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. March 19. You must reserve a spot to participate. To register, call Henry Garbade at 777-0855. Omicron Delta Kappa has honor stoles Omicron Delta Kappa honor stole or der forms are available at the Russell House Information Desk and in Stu dent Affairs, Room 112. Forms are due Friday. Registration forms due for Clean Carolina Registration forms are due on Friday to the Student Government Office for Clean Carolina, a campuswide com munity service project sponsored by Student Government. For more infor mation, call 777-2654. Health and Wellness to offer CPR course Health and Wellness Programs will of fer an American Red Cross adult CPR course from 5 to 9 p.m. March 28 in the Blatt P.E. Center. The class costs $20. To register, call 777-6518. Applications avail able for NAACP posi tions The National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People will have elections for the 2000-2001 term at 6 p.m. March 30 in Russell House Room 205. Applications are available in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and are due there by 5 p.m. March 22. For more information, call Douglas Wilson at 544-4201.. Learn the history of Bosnian Elections The Professional Society of Interna tional Studies is having a special speak er Professor Cornell Hugh Fleisher of the University Of Chicago at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 22 in Room 429 in Gambrell Hall. For more information, call Swen at 748-9876 or e-mail at psisusc@vm.sc.edu Multicultural Affairs to hold Honors Night The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs will hold Honors Night at 7 p.m. April 13. Applications for awards are available in the Campus Activities Center. For more information, call Ta laisha Caldwell at 777-4330. ■ CORRECTIONS The Gamecock strives to report the facts correctly and responsibly. If you come across any inaccuracies in our re portage, please let us know. College binge drinking not that prominent by Mackenzie Clements Staff Writer Got beer? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals seem to think that college students should replace their milk mustaches with beer 1 ft^l, according to a new campaign it plans to re lease this week. PETA objects to what it calls the dairy in dustry’s cruel treatment of milk cows and says beer is healthier than milk. For its campaign, PETA is distributing bottle openers that say, “Drink responsibly. Don’t drink milk.” “I’ve never heard of anyone getting in a car and killing someone because they drank too much milk,” said Rick Gant, director of Student and Par ent Involvement Programs. The release of PETA’s college-aimed campaign coincides with St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday noto rious for heavy drinking and celebration. Certainly, alcohol consumption will be up Friday, but how much do college students really drink? “A major motivating factor for students [to drink] is the perception that everyone’s doing it and everyone isn’t,” said Gant. “The 18 to 21 age is so misled by perception.” In 1998, more than a fourth of USC students reported having never used alcohol. In comparison, students believe only 0.5 percent of their peers abstain from alcohol. Sophomore Mia Brinkley couldn’t believe the per centages of non-users were so high. “I can’ think of one of my friends who doesn’t drink,” said Brinkley. “I think [the percentage of drinkers] is way higher than that.” It is this large gap between perception and re ality that University 101 classes sought to narrow through the Perceptions of the Norm program, said Gant. Scientifically, he says, lowering the per ception of peer-alcohol use results in lower drink ing rates among students. Despite more students abstaining from alco hol, there remains 18 percent who are labeled binge drinkers. “Basically, those whom are drinking are mak ing up for those who aren’t,” said Gant. In addition, an overwhelming majority of fresh men, 82 percent, report drinking. Ironically, fresh men, most of who are not 21, have the highest drinking rates, while seniors have the lowest. “That’s why we focus on University 101 and do ing intervention work with first-year students,” said Gant. “When I was a freshman, all my friends said they drank because they wanted to fit in wijh the crowd,” said junior Avery Lyde. “They’d say everyone else drinks and is cool why can’t I drink and be cool?” On-campus programs like RADICAL work in connection with the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. “RADICAL’S purpose is to try to reduce binge drinkers on campus,” said sophomore Chrys tal Hodges, a member of the program. “We try to target freshmen because we realize freshmen are at the highest risk.” In addition, the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse offers tailgating, stress blowouts, and Safe Spring Break Week - all of which are alcohol free events. “It usually takes a major crisis to make peo ple leam,” said Gant. Recent tragedies among col lege students, such as the death of a Georgetown University student during a campus fistfight ap parently fueled by alcohol, illustrate the extremes of alcohol’s consequences. Less-severe consequences than sexual and physical violence include second-hand affects of alcohol use such as loud noise, vandalism, dis turbances in dorms or a puking roommate, which affects non-drinkers as well as drinkers. According to Gant, 7 percent of college stu dents nationwide drop out simply because of al cohol. In addition, a DUI costs an average of $ 15,000, if the driver doesn’t hurt himself or some one else. Statistically, USC is below national averages when it comes to drinking among the student body as a whole. However, freshmen drinking rates are comparable to the rest of the country’s freshman drinking rates. According to Gant, no matter how low the percentages drop, there is still more that can be done to help curb the negative affects of alcohol. ‘Talk to peers, and challenge them,” Gant said. Drinking: the real numbers When it comes to drinking, many college students believe their peers drink constantly. According to the Office of Alcohol and Drug Awareness Programs in 1998, the opposite is true. Perception: 29.5% think other students drink once a week. 45% think students drink 3 times a week 10.5% think students drink 5 times a week 9.5% think students drink everyday 5% think students drink less than once a week 0.5% think students never drink /c Reality: J 24% have not had a drink in the past year 6.5% have had one drink in the past year 9% have had 6 drinks in the past year 7% have had a drink once last month 7% have had two drinks in the last month 25% have had a drink once in the last week 18% have had drinks three times in the last week 2% have had drinks five times in the last week 1% have a drink everyday