By: Lindsey Pruitt

The Fayetteville police and UAPD weren’t joking when they said they would be “cracking down” on drunk driving. Whether it is in response to the alarming numbers of alcohol-related incidents this year, or simply stricter policy we can never know. I do have to wonder whether these incidents have been happening for years and now that the police are cracking down, they are catching all those they hadn’t before, raising the numbers, or whether these alcohol offenses are actually on the rise.  

Last Friday, sitting in class ready to sprint out the door and greet my Friday, I received a text message from a good friend who ended up possibly saving me some real trouble. It read, “Hey I just heard that tonight the Fayetteville police are supposed to be doing a ‘DUI Sting’ and there are going to be like 35 cop cars out compared to the regular 16! So be careful! Don’t drink and drive.” It was an alarming message to get to say the least and sure enough the next morning I heard more than a few horror stories of getting “caught” in an alcohol-related no-no. 

Fortunately, I took the advice seriously and stayed home because we all know that a cop can stop you for any little thing and, even if you’ve only had a couple of drinks, you might be over the limit and that’s enough to bruise your record and your wallet. I feel sorry for the folks who didn’t receive my handy dandy text, but it got me thinking. The information she sent, the real gist of it, “Don’t drink and drive,” is information I already know. It’s been hammered into my head for as long as I can remember in formats from descriptive pamphlets to emotionally wrecking presentations. It is more than a common fact that drinking and driving is hazardous and that avoiding it is always the best idea even if you feel fine and able to drive. Still, there have been a few times, after a couple of drinks, that I have gotten into my car and driven home. Why? Maybe because I don’t want to be one of those girls who shacks. Maybe because I don’t want to spend money on the cab fee. Maybe because Safe Ride doesn’t always come when I expect or because I’ll get a ticket if I stay. For whatever reason, mostly because I just enjoy the comfort of my own bed, I’ve gone ahead and driven home and, for now, it has worked out for me; I haven’t been stopped. That doesn’t mean I won’t end up like some of my friends, unlucky. The idea here is that one text message stopped me from partying at all because I was aware of the “Sting,” but that’s only because I knew it would only be for one night and then it would be over. My question here is if police are worried about drunk driving, why do they think one random “sting” will solve the trick?

It’s been fairly hush hush and no one seems to know for sure, but officials have supposedly passed around the idea of making the UA a dry campus. In my opinion: terrible idea. Not just because I am tailgatings’ No. 1 fan and I party at fraternities, but for a better reason altogether. If students, especially crazy, out of the nest freshmen can’t stumble home linking arms with their besties after a night out or a football/baseball game then they will find other venues. Faraway bars, older students’ houses, etc. And how will the bulk of them get home? They will drive. And then police will be facing an even bigger problem. If we think the freshmen have gone crazy this year, just think of the mess we would be in if they were “fresh out of the nest partiers” on wheels! Drinking happens, and it will continue to happen regardless of whether it is restricted. The most important thing officials can do is make the conditions as safe as possible for students who do and will continue to drink. My advice:  Keep our campus wet, beef up Safe Ride and send the extra fleet of 16 home. Or even better, create more Safe Ride buses and get them a catchy name like, “The Boozer Cruisers,” so students would want to ride the buses. Whatever the case, the most important thing is for students to stay safe, but if our ability to party on campus is taken away, trust me, no one will be safe.