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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1997)
we lino w FACTOIDS ACCORDING TO Esquire magazine, smaller, shorter people live longer than tall ones. For every inch, you lose a year of life. THE NATIONAL Cancer Institute says that non-herbaI teas — green, black, oolong — contain polyphenols, which have cancer-fighting proper ties. SELF MAGAZINE says that people who exercise in the morning are three times more likely to keep exercising regularly. THAT SAME magazine notes a new belt for women with a hidden lock designed to protect them from sexual assault The lock can only be undone by the wearer. A STUDY shows that stu dents who put off assign ments are more likely to suf fer stress, and probably headaches, stomach upsets, and colds than non-procrasti nators. ABOUT 50 percent of all Americans have an IQ above 100. FIFTY-EIGHT percent of the men interviewed in a poll said they have had sex with a woman they actively disliked. 60% OF COLLEGE women diagnosed with a sex ually transmitted disease were drunk at the time of infection. ONE STUDY suggests that women whose sexual part ners smoke seem to be at above average risk of cervical cancer. AMERICAN WOMEN and men rank among the three nationalities most inclined to cry, along with Turkish ad Chilean women and Italian and Austrian men, according to a survey done by researchers from Tilburg University in the Netherlands TO PREVENT dehydration you need four cups of water, fruit juice or herbal tea for every 1,000 calories you eat And if you work out you need to drink another cup of these liquids for every 250 calories you bum. BEING DEPRESSED or suffering extreme sadness for two solid weeks more than doubles your risks of heart attacks over the next 13 years. Beware of the "rape drug" How many times have you been told to not drink from an already open container? And how many times have you ignored this advice? Well, now there is a new drug that may cause you to reconsider your actions. It’s called Rohypnol, better known as Roofies, Roach, R2, and has been called “the rape drug” due to its involvement in sexual assaults. Because Rohypnol is colorless, odor less, tasteless, and dissolves easily, it is the ideal drug to slip into someone’s drink. Its effects begin within thirty minutes of ingestion. Rohypnol usually causes memory loss. Due to this, sexual assault occurs easily. Some of its other effects include drowsi ness, visual disturbances, and dizziness. It is some times taken along with other drugs to enhance highs, or is used to offset drug withdrawals. The best precautions to take to pro tect yourself from this drug are the ones that you always hear. Do not drink from already open con tainers. If you put your drink down and it’s unwatched for a period, get a new one. And watch out for Rohypnol symp toms in the people you’re with. For more information about Rohypnol and protecting yourself from sexual assault, visit the Peer Health Education room in the Health Center, or call 346-4456. — Melissa Mabe Drunks don't have more rights than you do Alcohol use and abuse has become a perennial concern on college campuses. It seems for many students it has become an integral part of college life: even before we are ready to enter college many students have preconceived notions about our comportment with alcohol, stemming from stories from older siblings to John Belushi’s notorious “Animal House,” filmed on the very turf that we now tread daily. Many researchers feel, in fact, that drinking is not a behavior learned in college so much as a perpetuation of patterns ^ i/aitiuuaiicu caiuci. Many consider the heavy drinking that occurs around college campuses merely a phase in nor mal social growth and development. College-aged alcohol abusers often do not think of themselves as candidates to be “problem drinkers.” In our youth we feel invincible, we can look at a decent academic performance as proof that we are not problem drinkers, and many fellow students seem to drink the same way with little problem for four years before moving on to become successful, productive members of their communities. Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related behavior that would be considered abusive and dangerous elsewhere is on many college campuses not merely socially acceptable but is often considered socially attractive. BINGE DRINKING “Binge drinking” is the now common phrase to describe the pattern of alcohol consumption so common on campuses. Binge drinking is described as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting; this pattern is common among students who may not drink for several days before blowing it all out on the weekend. Many binge drinkers, while refusing to acknowledge a potential problem, suffer from the adverse effects of heavy drinking. A 1994 survey of college drinking across American campuses found that binge drinkers experienced problems ranging from missed class, doing something that is later regret ted or forgotten, to failing to use protection when engaging in sex or requiring medical treatment for alcohol overdose. SECONDARY EFFECTS? Beyond these immediate problems, alcohol abusers and binge drinkers pose health risks for others in their immediate environment as well. These problems, known by researchers as secondary binge effects,” encompass any problem suffered by an individual as a direct result of another individual’s drinking. If a drunk student decides to drive, he or she puts everyone on the street at risk for suffering a sec ondary effect. Similarly, suffering humiliation, assault, or unwanted sexual advances as a result of the behavior of an intoxicated student is considered a secondary effect. WHAT TO DO? Faced with the reality of the heavy drinking that appears entrenched in the traditions of college campuses, what can one do? 1) Assess yourself honestly: do you drink deliberately to reach intoxication? 2) Contact the Health Center or the Counseling Center for counselling if you feel that you are a problem drinker. 3) Understand that whether or not you recall your behav ior, you will be held accountable for your actions later. 4) If you are drunk and need to get home safely, utilize the ASUO designated driver shuttle, which runs from 10:00 pm to 3:00 a.m., Wednesday through Saturday—phone number 346-0621. — Coleman Herrod Fall staff, 1997: Teri Samson, Coleman Herrod, Brooke Narragon, Marika Wolfe, Kate Payne, Katie Clough WellNow is published each term, except summer, for UO students by the Health Education Department of the Health Center, 13th and Agate Streets, University of Oregon. _ Photos: Zanne Miller Adviser: John Monahan
