Extra Credit: House Party Event

The House Party

Kayla Brown

I was pleasantly surprised by the house party event.  It came together nicely for being the first event of it's kind.

When I first arrived, I enjoyed a lovely dinner provided by the staff.  I was in the first group to enter the house party, which boasted a series of several rooms.

In the first room, beer bottles were scattered everywhere.  There was a beer pong table to one side and several of the actors were behaving as if intoxicated.  A girl appeared to be passed out on the couch.  She had two "friends" who asked if they could leave her there since they were unable to wake her.  A bystander intervened and suggested calling 911.

At the end of the skit, Emily from Bronco Fit spoke a bit about the consequences of alcohol poisoning.  She explained that alcohol damages the liver.  One binge might not kill the liver, but many binges scattered out over the course of a summer could cause serious damage to it and lead to terrible medical conditions or even death.  She also talked about what it looks like when someone has reached an unsafe level of intoxication.  I have personally seen this happen to people in my past association with military life.  It is one of the scariest things I've experienced: to see someone with eyes wide open, but there isn't anyone home.  It's scary when a person is in this state and refuses to respond.  The leader of the group talked about how someone should not be left alone to "sleep it off," because people actually continue to become more drunk over time, which could lead to death.

After she finished answering everyone's questions, we went into the second room.  In this room more partying was happening.  One girl came in and started trying to get everyone to smoke weed.  The leader spoke about the rules about smoking weed in Idaho and on campus.  The health risks were discussed. A few questions were asked and answered and we moved on to the next room.

In the next room a young woman was clearly very intoxicated and a strange man was offering to share a taxi with her and see her home.  A bystander intervened, called her a taxi and encouraged the two of them to exchange numbers, that way they could see if they both still had feelings for each other at a time when neither were inebriated.  After that the leader gave a talk about consent and what that looks like.  There were quite a few questions and discussion.

We moved into another room where more partying was happening.  Some cops showed up and questioned the girls who all were under age.  There was a noise complaint.  The cops explained exactly what happens when there is a complaint, and what to expect.  He wants people at parties to understand so that people aren't afraid and are willing to be honest about age.  He explained what happens if people give alcohol to minors.  He also talked about a good samaritan law that basically says if anyone calls 911 to get help for a passed out individual (minor or otherwise), that person cannot be prosecuted, even if that person is an adult who gave alcohol to a minor.  This rule is in place to encourage people to call and save their friends who are in life threatening situations involving excessive alcohol consumption.

I enjoyed this event.  I appreciated that it was kept light-hearted and amusing.  The entertainment value did help to keep me from growing bored and it was short and sweet so I didn't get bored by the length of it.  I did feel I learned some information about the legal aspects of drinking that I didn't know before and also some good tips for safety in general.  The information was broadcast in a non-threatening way.  I appreciated that, and I'm sure others did also.

How does this event relate to nutrition?  This event is attempting to impact and inform the BSU community by informing young people about the risks involved in alcohol consumption.  Alcohol, like cigarettes, is poisonous to the human body.  This event is helping to raise awareness.  Over time, perhaps young people will attend this event and make better (possibly life-saving) choices about alcohol.  Drinking less will help preserve livers and lives everywhere.