Issue date: 9/30/08 Section: NEWS

Media Credit: Christena Dowsett The campus green was littered with bright red cups Monday as a part of an advertising class project. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, college students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol yearly.

Media Credit: Christena Dowsett The campus green was littered with bright red cups Monday as a part of an advertising class project. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, college students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol yearly.

The typically pristine Campus Green was trashed Monday afternoon in the name of binge drinking.

Red plastic cups were littered across the area as three students tried to educate passersby about binge drinking.

Jack Sprague of the communication design faculty assigned the presentation of several issues to students in his class this semester.

Communication design seniors Kayleigh Beard, Sarah Tapp and Paige Gibson were told to demonstrate binge drinking, and their construction of the aftermath of a college party brought statistics and information that broke down how much binge drinking costs per year and potential weight gain when drinking twice a week.

According to their information, binge drinkers spend an average of $3,120 a year on alcohol if the average beer costs $3. In addition to a lighter wallet, binge drinking could potentially pack on an extra 43 pounds a year.

"It's shocking. I didn't expect it to be that much," English sophomore Jaimie Jones said. "You always think, 'One or two beers, its no big deal.' But 43 pounds of beer alone? It adds up."

While Beard said their demonstration carried a strong message about the darker side of drinking, the group was not attempting to start another prohibition.

"Our main message is not 'Don't drink,' but just to moderate it," Beard said. "We just want to make people aware of the costs."

Some activist groups use megaphones and pass out fliers to get attention, but Beard, Gibson and Tapp only watched students as they stopped to examine their demonstration.

"My first reaction was 'Wow, that's a lot of money,'" education junior Ruby Benitas said. "I think if I still drank often, this would definitely get my attention about drinking and how expensive it gets."

In her research, Beard said she found that average fraternity parties use 250 to 500 cups per party, thus they decided to use 1000 cups for their demonstration.

"We don't want to stop college students from drinking," Beard said. "It's a part of college - you drink, you have fun, but it can get out of hand really fast."

Their demonstration ended Monday afternoon. As all the cups were picked up and signs taken down, the three said they hoped their message stuck in the minds of the students who witnessed it.

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