Alcohol Awareness week at King’s College boasted a number of popular events but probably none more moving than Elaine Pasqua’s speech to a jam-packed Burke Auditorium on Thursday September 25.
Pasqua travels across the United States speaking about alcohol awareness as part of her program entitled “Surviving the Party.”
While the program was open to the general King’s public, the auditorium was filled to capacity with mostly athletes from almost all the King’s teams.
Pasqua spoke about the dangers that present themselves as college students party. Never did she discourage students from partying and being social on campus, however, she did give students tips and strategies about how to make it home in one piece.
“The biggest tip from the speaker is that you do not have to completely give up partying and going out with your friends,” junior baseball player, Jeremy Bonser said. “You just have to learn how to manage the amount you do and to make sure that you are safe in doing so.”
Pasqua was open to speak of many personal accounts and experiences that led her to conducting the national speaking tour.
She spoke of both her parents passing away from HIV/AIDS as well as a college friend who was imprisoned for drunk driving.
Pasqua did much more than just speak of reasons why to limit your partying. She gave powerful examples, most notably an exercise with cups of water and a chemical solution that demonstrated how HIV/AIDS can spread.
Students chose from a selection of approximately five cups of the chemical solution (HIV/AIDS) as compared to about 80 cups of just water (healthy partners). After students mingled and “had sex” with three other people by mixing their cups, the participants found that over 60 of them were “infected” with HIV/AIDS.
“The most effective element of the event was when we simulated the spreading of STD, more specifically in our case HIV/AIDS,” Bonser said. “To hear numbers about how both diseases are spread has little to no effect on a lot of people. But once you have a visualization, it does a lot more and that certainly was the case with that experiment.”
The program left a typically difficult group to reach in awe over how their lives could change in an instant. Pasqua’s first-hand experiences and powerful demeanor demanded respect and attention from what could have been a tough crowd. However, her message was relayed successfully and listeners walked away changed people.
“I believe that those people (who took it seriously) did walk away with some valuable information that will hopefully help them if they were ever to be caught in any of the situations that (Pasqua) spoke about.” Bonser said. “Overall though, I would say attitudes were changed for the better.”
Pasqua’s speech focused mainly on the sexual side effects and risks of alcohol consumption. The group learned a lot about partying and a lot about themselves as part of a highly-successful Alcohol Awareness Week.
Any student interested in a free STD/HIV test can receive such every Tuesday from 1:00-3:30 PM at the Kirby Health Center, room 111, at 71 N. Franklin St. Students must bring a piece of mail or identification that proves Wilkes-Barre residence. |
