Expert weighs in on party safety as spring semester takes off

Kate Denning Correspondent

In recent weeks, students have been celebrating the return to campus by attending parties and gatherings on and off campus. While partying and drinking carries risks, there are ways to reduce the likelihood of a night out going awry.

Whitley Grant, alcohol and other drugs prevention coordinator for Prevention Services, offers insight on how students can remain safe in crowded party settings when substances are involved.

“The main way to keep yourself safe in an environment like that is to manage your own substance usage,” Grant said. “I highly encourage students to be aware of their tolerance. There’s something called the biphasic effect that happens around .005 [BAC], depending upon if you are male or female, but typically takes place around [one to three] drinks in.”

The biphasic effect describes the feelings of happiness and sociability consumers experience when drinking alcohol. Grant said once drinkers surpass this biphasic effect, their drinking often gets out of control and the negative effects of alcohol can take effect.

“Even though the legal limit is .008, what typically happens when you get past .005 is when your judgment can be cloudy, bal- ance can be off and your behavior is really impacted,” Grant said.

Although the assumption is that all college students drink, often to excess, Grant says this is not necessarily accurate.

“Most students on college campuses do not drink,” Grant said. “It might appear that is the case, even though there are 200 or 300 students [at a party] and we can make the assumption that every student there is intoxicated, some students probably haven’t drank anything at all or maybe only had one drink.”

In addition to monitoring one’s alcohol intake, Grant says to drink water in between alcoholic drinks, eat before and during drinking and make a plan for transportation to and from the event.

Julianna Roseland, a second-year studying political science, weighed in on how she keeps herself and her peers safe as she begins to attend parties for the first time.

“It’s something that I’m still figuring out how to do myself,” Roseland said. “I make sure I know the people I’m around, and the people I see around me, especially women, are okay.”

Grant said she encourages people to go out in a group and be responsible for your friends.

“If you came with someone, you need to make sure you leave together as well,”

Grant said.

In the event someone has consumed too much alcohol, and the situation has potential to become dangerous, Grant says signs to look out for include changes in the color of their face, slowed breathing and stumbling. In this case, students should not hesitate to call an emergency number.

“If you call 911 and say that you think someone is experiencing an alcohol over- dose, they will send EMS,” Grant said. “They would not send the police for a situation like that. Ultimately, you could end up saving the person’s life.”

If you are interested in learning more about alcohol and drug safety, information can be found on Prevention Services’ website. Students may also email Whitley Grant at wegrant@ncsu.edu to schedule a meeting to discuss substance use.