Western Front - 2006 September 26

              STUDYING
ON SPEED:
black market
Adderall
sales on
campus
Feeling
blue?
Missing
home?
New exhibit
shows another
side of family
l i s ! Nil! 1
Vikings
off and
running
INDEX
Shuttle stops 4
Dorm vs. off-campus ... 5
Campus crime.... 8
College food 11
Visitor's Center.. 13
Poison partying
photo by Beckie Rosillo THE WESTERN FRONT
Drinking too fast and not knowing one's limit are common factors that lead to alcohol poisoning.
Fall quarter sees highest rates of alcohol poisoning
i
//,
Michael Lee
THE WESTERN FRONT
t is called alcoholic gastritis. It depresses
cognitive functioning like thinking,
reflexes and, most importantly, respiration. It
makes breathing difficult and since another main
symptom is uncontrollable vomiting, it has the
potential to make the victims choke on their own
throw-up. In its most severe cases it can cause
death.
It is also more commonly known as alcohol
poisoning.
As fall quarter comes around, so do the highest
rates of alcohol poisoning among students, said
Dr. Emily Gibson, physician and director of the
Student Health Center. Freshman flood the dorms,
many with little or no drinking experience, and an
abundance of liquor and beer suddenly surrounds
them.
Oftentimes these are the
students who drink too much, too
fast and do not know their limit,
Gibson said.
Senior Vanessa Jones saw
the effects of this disillusioned
drinking when she attended a
house party last year. The host, a
girl of about average size, started
taking shot after shot and doing
multiple keg stands.
"A little while later she went
to the bathroom and just started
puking and puking," Jones said.
"She would puke and then pass out and then wake
up and puke again."
Eventually some partygoers took the girl to the
hospital where medics had to pump her stomach.
Uncontrollable vomiting is a telltale sign of
alcohol poisoning, Gibson said. Other things to look
for include passing out, inability to walk without
help, inability to speak or saying nonsensical
things, -not knowing where they are or what they
are doing and not being roused easily. If these
symtoms are present, it can mean the individual
has alcohol poisoning, and are in need of medical
attention.
"The most common mistake people make is to
assess that someone is sleeping pretty comfortably
and not realize they have had too much to drink,"
It's a pretty
nasty chemical
experience for
the brain and the
rest of the body.
- Dr. Emily Gibson
Student Health Center
Gibson said.
Elva Giddings, the interim director for
prevention and wellness and the coordinator of
Alcohol and Drug Consultation and Assessment
Services (ADCAS), said another common mistake
is being reluctant to call 9-1-1 once someone gets
alcohol poisoning.
"This is a medical emergency," she
said. "If your friend fell and broke their leg would
you call 9-1-1? You want them to wake up in the
morning."
Another problem is oftentimes people are
afraid of police arresting them for being a minor in
possession of alcohol, Giddings said. If that is the
case, she said a smart decision is to alert everyone
an ambulance and police are on their way and
anyone who does not want to be present should
leave.
In most cases, police are more concerned with
the wellness of the sick individual
and not giving out MIPs, Gidding
said. But even if they do it is worth
it for the sick individual's health,
she said.
Senior communications major
Austin Mankey was 14 when he got
his only case of alcohol poisoning.
When he began to vomit and pass
out his friends.stuck him in a room
and kept partying. Eventually they
_ _ _ _ _ _ took money from his wallet to buy
a cab ride home and had to drag
his limp body into the cab and into
the house.
Mankey said he recalls events up to the
moment he started vomiting, and then he blacked
out. The morning after he felt horrible and it took
three days to fully recover.
Alcohol poisoning renders a powerful
hangover, Gibson said. Side effects include muscle
arid joint aches, nausea, lack of appetite and
diarrhea. Usually the actual alcohol poisoning
lasts six to eight hours, but recovery time can last
anywhere from three days to a week.
"You're pretty toxic for a few days," Gibson
said. "It's a pretty nasty chemical experience for
the brain and the rest of the body."
//
seeJUC0H0Lpage3^
SEPTEMBER 27,2006
WELCOME BACK ISSUE
Applications
decrease, but
enrollment
stays steady
., Steven Chea
THE WESTERN FRONT
Despite a decrease in the
number of applicants, following
a statewide trend, the number of
new students expected to enroll
at Western in fall 2006 remains
similar to the numbers from the
same time last year.
While there is no clear
explanation for the decrease
in applicants across the state,
Western Director of Admissions
Karen Copetas said some
possibilities include an increase
in the application fee from $38 to
$50 and a lower overall number
of high school graduates in the
state compared to previous
years.
Western received about
8,621 freshman applications in
2005, but that number dropped
to about 7,991 this year, a
decrease of 7 percent. Four-year
public universities and colleges
across the state also saw notable
decreases, including drops of 18
percent at Central Washington
see ENROLLMENT page 13 •
Pulitzer prize
winner joins
Huxley staff
Adriana Dunn
THE WESTERN FRONT
This quarter, journalist
and author Bill Dietrich will
embark on a new challenge.
After chronicling the 1989.
Exxon Valdez oil spill, covering
politics in Washington D.C.,
authoring six historical fiction
novels and three non-fiction
books, Dietrich will make his
first venture into academia as
professor of environmental
journalism in Huxley College of
the Environment.
Dietrich, who graduated
fromFairhaven
College in
1973 with a
B a c h e l o r ' s
Degree in
journalism,
says the
j o u r n a l i sm
program is
exceptionally
strong and he is eager to work
with students.
"I'm fascinated to see
whether students have changed
at all," he says. "I suspect they
haven't in terms of personality
see DIETRICH page 20 •
courtesty ph
Bill Dietrich
westernfrontonline.com