Naturally high vs. hung over

The big draw of Thursday's Natural High Fair in the Library quad was watching three students get intoxicated, then be subjected to a California Highway Patrol field sobriety check and breathalyzer exam.

The truth of drinking past the legal limit By Susan Moll HORNET STAFF WRITER For reasons unbeknownst to me, my cohorts at the State Hornet nominated me to be a DUI guinea pig at the CSUS Natural High Fair. Flattered, I happily agreed to participate, especially on account of the free alcohol I'd be given on University time (it's high time my registration fees funded something useful!) I was informed I'd be drinking wine coolers, ASI President Gary Davis would down bottles of beer and KSSU's Paul Nozicka would shoot carefully-measured increments of vodka. But I was not to interact with Bartles and Jaymes on this day: Unable to locate bottled wine coolers, Rec Sports furnished me with a bottle of wine and some cans of Storm (they must've forgotten about the Bottle Shop located a mere footstep from campus). Don't try this at home. The amount of alcohol we were instructed to ingest was based on our weight. Paul weighs 195 lbs. and I, meanwhile, weighed in at 127 lbs., the hulking gargantuan that I am. (I've missed my last few appointments at Jenny Craig and it's starting to show.) While Gary and Paul tootled around on their trikes in a mini-drunk driving exercise (those little Facilities Management carts would've been more suitable for this exercise, though) I busied myself sitting in the black-and-white and listening to the police radio, which was quite fascinating. (If you'd like to experience this for yourself, type www.policescanner.com into your Netscape window and listen to Barney Fife in the comfort of your own home/classroom/office.) At the end of the experiment I left with my sober escorts and a BAC reading of .11, well over the legal limit. I still need to pick up copies of the pictures Mr. Bartender Man took of me getting cuffed and thrown in the backseat of the copmobile because the pages reserved for me in the family album are looking quite bare these days. The Natural High Fair was a delightful experience, although blowing the police siren would've made for a nice finale. Maybe next year...

The drinking and impaired motor skills was a supervised demonstration designed to show just how little alcohol it takes to lose gross and fine motor skills, said Laura Hall, director of recreational sports. She said about five hundred students showed up for the fair. The annual event highlights drug and alcohol concerns on campus and alternatives to substance abuse, Hall said.

"We're hoping to show safe and sober ways to have fun," she said.

The centerpiece demonstration featured Associated Students Inc. President Gary Davis, State Hornet Copy Editor Susan Moll and KSSU disk jockey Paul Nozicka. All three were measured for body weight and given beer, homemade wine coolers, or vodka shots respectively. Then, CHP officer Brent Carter tested each for sobriety.

"All were super examples of how little alcohol it takes to get messed up," Hall said.

The demonstration showed students three different reactions to how the human body processes alcohol.

Not seen by students were the unintended after-effects. Moll, who drank an entire bottle of wine over the course of the two-hour experiment, became violently ill and passed out about two hours after the event ended. She was taken to the student health center for treatment. Davis said he had a headache later in the afternoon after consuming four beers in less than three hours.

"I think they definitely made their point about the negative effects of alcohol, and they made it publicly," Davis said.

Davis said recreational sports contacted him after the experiment to see how he was doing. All of the participants were required to leave the fair with a sober "buddy."

Hall said the effects of alcohol vary by body weight and metabolism. Graduate assistant Erin Saluta, who organized the intoxication demonstration, regrets that anyone got sick as a result of their participation in the event.

"We were trying to make this as safe as possible and get the message across," she said.

All three participants were given the same field sobriety tests an intoxicated driver would receive on the roadside. Carter started after everyone's first drink by having the participants follow his finger with their eyes.

"We look for a stagger or a bounce," Carter said. "You can't control that."

Following the first check, Carter had Moll run through the rest of the tests. Carter had her stand on one leg with the other in front of her and count to 30, and then tested her hand-eye coordination. Afterwards, she was given a Breathalyzer test. After her first drink, she registered a .03 blood alcohol level. California's legal limit for adults over the age of 21 is .08.

Moll ended the day with a blood alcohol level of .11 and was handcuffed and placed into the back of Carter's cruiser, much the same way as any driver would with that blood alcohol level. Nozicka wound up with a blood alcohol level of .15.

Sober students didn't have to watch the festivities idly. Carter brought a set of goggles intended to duplicate what someone sees at with a .16 blood alcohol level. Several students, including freshman electronic electrical engineering major Cherilyn Martin, tried walking heel to toe with the goggles on.

"It's okay until you look down," Martin said.

Most students, including Martin, stumbled after three or four steps with the goggles. In a real sobriety test, the CHP makes drivers walk ten steps, Carter said.

The fair was not limited to the intoxication demonstration. Students jousted, wiggled into sumo costumes, and climbed an artificial wall. The student health center, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and other groups operated booths providing information on substance abuse and sobriety.

Rec Sports also sponsored a prize giveaway for students who pledged to be sober for National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week which ran from October 12-16. The Sacramento Monarchs donated a jersey signed by Ruthie Bolton-Holyfield.