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This blog post was originally posted on March 5, 2013 and was written by Natalie Rich. 

Next week is Spring Break. Maybe you and your friends have plans to relax under palm trees in a sunny tropical location. Maybe you are going home to reunite with all your buddies from high school. Maybe you are sticking around Chapel Hill. Whether your Spring Break plans involve productivity or partying, you may be in a situation with people who are intoxicated. So, here are some tips on how to be the best friend/bystander to someone who has had a bit too much…

1.       Telling people they’ve had too much

It helps to have a conversation with friends beforehand to get an idea of what is too much for them or signs that it’s time to switch to water. That will make it easier to broach the subject later on in the night. If you haven’t talked to your friend beforehand, you can still talk to him in the moment. Offer him a cup of water or simply suggest going home. If your friend is just gearing up to have a good time and wants to keep drinking, try getting support from others to intervene. You don’t want to gang up on him, but having multiple people suggest that he slow down or take it easy on the shots may help.

If you are worried about a friend’s drinking, here is some information on how to have that conversation with him/her

2.       Taking keys away from someone

The easiest way to help people avoid drinking and driving is to establish a plan at the beginning of the night. If you are hosting, collect keys as people come in the door and keep numbers for cab companies handy. If going to a party, agree on a DD or take a cab to and from the party. You may find yourself in a situation where a friend insists on driving after she has been drinking. She may think she is fine to drive, but even small amounts of alcohol can impact decision-making and driving ability. Plus, the legal limit for driving if you are under 21 is 0.00 (0.08 for 21 and up) which means any amount of alcohol puts her at risk for DUI. When a friend insists she is fine to drive, it can be tricky to convince her she is not. Again, getting support from others might help. Call a cab for your friend or offer to drive her home if you are sober or ask a DD at the party to drive her home. Remove as many barriers as possible, so that it becomes easier for her to choose getting a ride home rather than driving.

3.       Know what alcohol poisoning looks like and know what to do.

If your friend is experiencing any of these signs, it may be alcohol poisoning:

  • Throwing up
  • Passed out and cannot be woken up
  • Incoherent speech
  • Shallow breathing
  • Pale, bluish, or clammy skin

If you suspect alcohol poisoning, here’s what to do:

  • Call 911
  • Stay with the person or have someone (not intoxicated) stay with the person
  • Try to wake up the person
  • If lying down, keep them lying on their side (to reduce risk of choking on vomit)

Resources:

  • Campus police—962 8100
  • After hours Healthlink (to speak to a nurse after hours)—962 2281
  • UNC ER—966 4721

For more detailed info on how to help an intoxicated friend who may have alcohol poisoning, check out this great post on Go Ask Alice.

4.       Take care of yourself when the people around you are intoxicated. 

No matter what kind of situation you find yourself in, don’t forget to take care of yourself first. That means leaving a party that’s getting out of control to avoid legal risk. That means telling your suitemates to keep it down so that you can go to sleep. And it means listening to your gut. If you get a bad vibe from a party, tell your friends and suggest an alternative. If you don’t feel like going out, then take a night to yourself and stay in. Being a good friend is not just about taking care of others; it’s about knowing how to take care of yourself too.

You might have heard about the latest “rape prevention” innovation. This time around it is nail polish that tests for date rape drugs such as Rohyphnol and GHB. Past innovations have included anti-rape underwear, coasters that test for GHB and Ketamine, and even anti-rape condoms. It seems every few months there is some new idea that gets a lot of media coverage as a successful innovation to stop rape. On one hand, these stories bring attention to sexual assault, which is a huge public health problem—1 in 5 college women experience sexual assault. Obviously we need lots of people talking about and working on this issue. However, this new nail polish follows a long line of past innovations that do not actually help to decrease rates of sexual assault.

Photo from facebook.com/Orly

There are many reasons I take issue with this nail polish—one of which is that the most common date rape drug is alcohol, which generally people know when they are consuming. Many perpetrators use alcohol to incapacitate their victims, and this new nail polish will not address the role of alcohol in sexual assaults.

The nail polish also raises a great deal of questions around responsibility and assumptions—Why should a woman have to pay for a product that sells itself as ensuring she won’t be assaulted? If I don’t wear the nail polish and I am drugged, does that make me at fault for being assaulted? What about men, who are also sexually assaulted and don’t generally wear nail polish? Will the guy who roofied the drink of one woman who was wearing the nail polish just try to do the same to another woman? What about the fact that the majority of rapists are someone the survivor knows?

These questions aside, the main issue I have with this nail polish is that it doesn’t tackle the root of the problem—which is that the onus of preventing rape should not be on the potential victim. To fight sexual violence, we need to teach people not to rape, rather than simply redirecting rapists to another person. We need to target the underlying reasons why people sexually assault others and take a community-wide approach to prevention, rather than an individual approach.

So this leads us to the question of “What is sexual violence prevention then?” Sexual violence prevention means several things. First, it means teaching about what consent is and isn’t. Everyone should be able to define consent and feel comfortable asking for consent. This education should begin early so everyone has the same baseline and knows what sexual violence and consent looks like. In addition to teaching about consent, there is also bystander intervention, which trains people how to be active bystanders and safely intervene in situations where they are worried about a possible assault. Bystander intervention has been proven to be successful, and UNC’s One Act program has adopted this approach to teach students how to be active bystanders. This includes learning how to observe, assess, act, and follow up when someone sees a situation and is concerned about interpersonal violence taking place. To learn more about One Act and sign up for trainings, visit the One Act website and learn how to help prevent sexual violence.

I am tired of “innovations” that tell me what I should do to avoid sexual assault. While I believe that the four men who created this new nail polish have good intentions, they should have looked at the research and created an intervention that actually decreases the number of sexual assaults, rather than create a product that enables them to profit from a woman’s fear of being assaulted. We need to move away from all these so-called “prevention innovations” that wrongly place the burden of prevention on potential victims, and implement actual evidence-based sexual violence prevention programs like One Act that work.

Find more information on prevention programs at UNC and when you can get trained here!

Welcome (back) to Carolina! It’s a brand new year with new classes, new opportunities, and possibly new friends. Maybe you’re ready to hit the ground running or maybe you’re a bit anxious about all of these changes. Either way, Student Wellness is here to help you find your way. Specifically, we want to make sure that you know what resources are available and nearest to you for two reasons:

  1. If you know where helpful resources are NOW, then in times of need, you’ll know exactly where to go (or where to direct your friends)!
  2. We want you to become familiar with what resources this fantastic campus has to offer. I can tell you from personal experience that I WISH I knew these places existed, and I found out about them…4 years too late!

image from 5kmissionpossible.com

It’s time to WIN PRIZES! Here’s how to play:

  • Below you’ll find some of my favorite Carolina hotspots, split up by location.
  • Visit at least 1 spot in each location category (South Campus, Bell Tower, Old Well)
  • Take a selfie in front of the building or sign or whatever is accessible for you.
  • Post that photo to Instagram or to the Tar Heel Wellness Challenge Facebook Page with #THWC for a chance to win a $20.00 gift card for UNC Student Stores!
  • Come visit us at Student Wellness Services on the 2nd floor of the Campus Health (James A. Taylor) building, show us your pics, and EVERY PERSON will leave with a prize – whether it’s a pair of rockin’ sunglasses, a sweet notebook, or a surprise!

Jani’s Favorite Campus Hotspots
Visit each center’s website for some great online resources!

image from housing.unc.edu

Near the South Campus Dorms…

The Learning Center
SASB North
This center has a great supportive environment. They connect you with peer tutors, academic coaches, study groups, and learning disability and accessibility resources. They can also help you out with test prep!

The Writing Center
SASB North
Folks at this center edit and proofread papers and even help develop your unorganized thoughts into a full essay. They send a notice to your professor to let them know you’re taking advantage of their resource, you really care about the work, and you take it seriously. In my experience, this really helped boost my grades.

 LGBTQ Center
SASB North
This is a wonderful place to meet great people. The center also has a resource library and a cozy, safer space to relax in. You do not have to identify as gay, queer, bisexual, etc. to enjoy this space!

 Accessibility Resources and Services
SASB North
This center hooks you up with alternative testing conditions, provides assistive listening devices, provides means of alternative format course textbooks, and more. As someone who gets panic attacks and an increase in my anxiety in high-stress situations, I wish I took advantage of these services as an undergrad. You can BET I’m going to as a graduate student!

 Rams Head Rec Center
Near Morrison and Rams Head Dining Center
This gym has group classes throughout the day, exercise equipment, and a climbing wall.

Tip: To get from South Campus (first-year dorms) to Mid Campus (classes) the fastest – walk to Morrison, find the path that starts behind the dumpsters and goes through a wooded area. The path exits at the Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)!

image from unc.edu

Near the Bell Tower…

 Women’s Center
Stone Center
This is a great place to chat and connect with people who are passionate about gender equity work. There are also tons of interesting classes, lectures, and performances hosted here throughout the semester.

 Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
3rd floor of Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)
CAPS offers a range of mental health services from 1-on-1 counseling to group therapy.

 Campus Health Services
1st floor of Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)
Feeling under the weather? See a doctor at CHS for free. You can also visit CHS for anything from a pelvic exam to immunizations.

 Healthy Heels Shoppe
Basement of Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)
Get everything you need from prescription refills to popular over-the-counter meds and nutrition bars.

 Student Wellness Services
2nd floor of Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)
This is the greatest spot on campus 😉 But for real – we offer a supportive, safer, and non-judgmental environment for conversations around health and well-being. We connect you to peer education groups, campus student groups and resources, or trained staff that can discuss an array of topics from HIV testing to microaggressions to decision-making to active bystander skills.

 Student Rec Center
Near Student Stores, the Football Stadium, on Stadium Drive
This is another gym on campus that has fun group classes and equipment. It’s very easy to stop by between classes.

 The Study Abroad Office
FedEx Global Education Center, up McCauley Street
The building itself is awesome with a lovely café and cozy study spots throughout. Advisors connect you to programs around the world depending on your interests, major, and goals. They’ll also work with you on how to transfer classes back to UNC for course credit. For example, I learned how to pick classes strategically at Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland to count towards my Environmental Sciences and Engineering BSPH degree. I ended up not having to take some required courses at UNC and was able to take some fun electives my senior year.

image from unc.edu

Near the Old Well…

 Academic Advising
Steele Building, Near South Building and Saunders Hall
Do you have a hold on class registration because you haven’t seen your academic advisor? I suggest you visit advising on a regular basis, not just before registering for classes!

 Career Services
Hanes Hall (NOT HANES ART CENTER!), across from Saunders, near Carroll Hall (School of Journalism and Mass Communication)
Don’t wait until senior year. This is a great place to come chat about your passions and they’ll help connect you with jobs and internships throughout your time at UNC to figure out what you like and don’t like.

 The Office of Scholarship and Student Aid
Pettigrew Hall, North Campus across from the Franklin Street Post Office
Whether you’re an undergraduate or professional student, you can visit walk-in hours to ask advisors financial questions or to get info about financial aid and scholarship options.

SO, start clicking away, snap some pics, and get hashtaggin’! I hope to see you all in our office soon J

Jani

Have a question about campus or local laws? Want the inside scoop on how to avoid getting a citation?

Come to Coffee with a Cop!

May 28, 2014

Women’s Hospital Conference Room 4

8:30 AM – 10:00 AM

I attended Coffee with a Cop a few months ago with a list of questions from students and staff around UNC’s policy on marijuana possession and probable cause for searching residence hall rooms. Not only did I get concrete answers to all my questions, I got some really helpful advice to pass along to students and FREE coffee and cookies…YES!

Take advantage of this opportunity to talk openly with law enforcement; you might be surprised at how willing they are to answer your questions, address your problems, and to offer advice for staying out of legal trouble. Don’t just take it from me; here’s what they say on the Coffee with a Cop website:

“In over 175 cities and towns in 36 states, Coffee with a Cop has done wonders for community trust, police legitimacy and partnership building.

One of the keys to Coffee with a Cop’s success is that it removes the physical barriers and crisis situations that routinely define interactions between law enforcement officials and community members. Instead it allows for relaxed, informal one-on-one interactions in a friendly atmosphere. This informal contact increases trust in police officers as individuals which is foundation to building partnerships and engaging in community problem solving.

So pull up a chair and grab a cup of coffee….”

See ya’ll there!

Contributed by Kimberly Yates, UNC Carpe Diem

Not everybody likes to be the designated driver.

You’re signing yourself up for a night of sobriety while your friends let the stress of the week dry up like the drops left in bottles that they seem to leave in their wake. By the end of the night, you might be trying to remember what about this was supposed to be so fun. Well before we write it off completely, let’s take a few things into consideration.

Alcohol – whether under-aged or legal – has its risks. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) cites that alcohol is the number one drug for America’s youth, and it is more likely to kill our age group than all illegal drugs combined. As college students, we may not have done the statistical analysis or have memorized the fact sheets, but we know that every time we refill our red cups with whatever unknown concoction the party is serving, we’re taking the chance that we might go just a little too hard and drink just a little bit too much.

And from time to time, that can lead to a drinking ticket.

After the initial panic subsides, what do you do next? You’ve got a drinking ticket, the prospect of a blemish on your record and angry parents yelling at you. You want this over with as quickly and painlessly as possible. After praying for time travel and contemplating moving far away, you’ve come up with no answers. So let me give you your solution. Carpe Diem.

Carpe Diem is a collegiate alcohol education program created to get you out of this pickle you’ve found yourself in. Not only is the class you’re going to take going to help get your charges dismissed and complete the four-hour requirement that UNC Chapel Hill sets, but it’ll also get you back on track with your now-strained relationship with alcohol. If you’re under-aged, maybe for you this means waiting until you’re 21. If you’re 21, maybe this means knowing your limits and finding ways to stick to it. Either way, Carpe Diem is there to help you— not judge you— and get you back to life at UNC.

In light of April being NCADD’s Alcohol Awareness Month, it’s especially important to find that balance. Students need to find a way to blow off steam, but health is a priority that can’t be overlooked.

So take this time during Alcohol Awareness Month to evaluate your relationship with alcohol. Yes, it can be fun to shut down the stress of the week and open up a bottle. Yes, it can be fun to take the night off from responsibility. We do deserve some time to shut the computer and close the books. But there are other ways to do that and minimize the risks involved with alcohol, like volunteering to be the DD.

Being in a state of mental and physical well-being goes beyond just knowing the risks – it means acting on them, and that’s what Alcohol Awareness Month is all about. April is ending, but the sentiment continues in Student Wellness activities and services to keep all Heels knowledgeable about alcohol and prepared to take action in worst-case scenarios. Carpe Diem and Student Wellness know the steps you can take after getting a drinking ticket, but more importantly, they have the resources to keep you from getting a citation to begin with.

So challenge yourself. Be the DD. Maybe it’s not the college experience you’ve had thus far. Maybe it’s not the average Friday night out that you’ve gotten used to. But a night of being the DD minimizes your risk of getting a citation while still giving you a chance to get to the party, and that sounds like a good deal to me.

Check out these links to find out more about Alcohol Awareness Month, Carpe Diem, Student Wellness and what you can do to make sure you’re staying smart and safe.

by Campus Rec

How much do you know about hookah? Answer the question below to test your knowledge!

Question: Is smoking hookah safer than smoking cigarettes?

A) Hookah is much safer. There’s no nicotine… right? B) Hookah and cigarettes are equally as harmful. C) More dangerous- a hookah session equals twice as much smoke as 1 cigarette.

D) Much more dangerous – a hookah session equals 100 times as much smoke as 1 cigarette

Answer: D. Hookah smoke contains nicotine, carbon monoxide, and is actually more dangerous than cigarette smoking.

Celebrities like Rihanna have helped to popularize hookah smoking. 1 hookah session = 100 cigarettes

Many college students are turning to hookah for a fun, new experience. The social aspect and flavorful taste makes smoking hookah the perfect Friday night activity. Smoking hookah is also seen as more socially acceptable than smoking cigarettes. In fact, a 2011 study found that 18.5% of college students had used a hookah in the past year. And many hookah smokers believe that smoking a hookah has fewer negative health effects than cigarettes. These notions couldn’t be farther from the truth. Find out why hookah smoking could be causing the next major public health crisis.

New research has revealed the dramatic and shocking dangers of smoking hookah. Hookah smoke contains the same deadly toxins as cigarette smoke, which have been linked to lung cancer, respiratory illness, low birth weight, and periodontal disease. In fact, smoking hookah exposes the user to more smoke than a cigarette does. This is because hookah sessions last longer than smoking a cigarette, and the method of inhalation is different. When smoking hookah, the user inhales deeper and more frequently. These differences mean that hookah smokers are actually absorbing higher amounts of toxins.

The harmful effects of hookah go beyond the dangers of cigarettes. Smoking hookah may also be a cause for cancer. This is because the charcoal used to incinerate the tobacco produce smoke that contains high levels of carbon monoxide, metals, and cancer causing chemicals. Exposing yourself to these chemicals is playing Russian roulette with your health.

The dangers are real, but the awareness is limited. Currently, there are no public health campaigns against hookah smoking, like there are for cigarettes. Take action and educate yourself and your peers. Check out the information below to arm yourself with the facts about smoking hookah:

http://www.cdc.gov/features/hookahsmoking/

http://www.health.umd.edu/sites/default/files/Hookah%20Brochure-%20Final_0.pdf

Workout Wednesday blog posts are written by UNC Campus Recreation staff members. Each Wednesday we’ll be swapping blog posts with the Tarheel Tone Up blog so that readers can view more diverse post topics that will benefit their health and wellness. Workout Wednesday blog posts can be found both here and on tarheeltoneup.com.

image courtesy of rollingout.com

Nothing diminishes a celebratory occasion quite like a citation or an arrest, and yet drinking and drug related citations typically increase from now until New Year’s Day. So, I am passing along straightforward advice, based on common questions I get from students, on how to minimize your legal risk in a variety of situations.

Tips for…

Hosting a party

  1. Talk to your neighbors. Letting your neighbors know about your party—and perhaps inviting them—opens the lines of communication and reduces the chance they will call in a noise complaint, which is the most common reason why police show up at your door.
  2. Guard the door. Know who is in your home and what they are doing. In the end, you are responsible for what happens at your residence, so if people you don’t know show up and start smoking marijuana or using other illegal drugs, you could be held responsible. Guarding the door and keeping it closed also protects you from officers coming in or seeing things that may lead to a search, a citation, or even an arrest.
  3. Don’t provide alcohol. If an underage person attends your party and says that you provided the alcohol, you could be charged with aiding and abetting underage consumption. If you provide alcohol to someone (regardless of age) and they leave your house and get in a car accident, you could also face social host liability charges. So, make it BYOB.
  4. Call 911 in an emergency. North Carolina’s Good Samaritan Law grants immunity from certain drug and alcohol possession charges for anyone who calls 911 in an overdose or medical emergency situation.

When the cops show up

  1. Be discreet. Keep the front door closed at all times. Once officers come to your residence, simply open the door and step outside then close the door behind you. If police come to your door and view what they believe to be suspicious or illegal activity, this could give them probable cause to search, issue citations, and even make arrests.
  2. Be polite. Ask, “How can I help you, officer?” If they are responding to a noise complaint, apologize for the noise and assure them that you will take action to get the noise level down. No matter what happens, always maintain a courteous attitude with the police.
  3. Do not consent to a search. Police must have a search warrant before they can search you (thanks to the Fourth Amendment). Without a warrant, police can conduct a search if

a) you consent

b) they see or smell evidence of illegal activity like alcohol, marijuana use

c) they have an arrest warrant

d) there are exigent circumstances like an unconscious person in plain view or a loud crash coming from inside the house.

If the police ask to come into your home, simply respond “I do not consent to a search.” The same goes if they ask to search any of your belongings including your car. Most people voluntarily give up their Fourth Amendment rights by consenting to searches when an officer has no warrant. Even if an officer does have probable cause, you cannot be punished for saying that you do not consent, and the burden will be on the officer to prove probable cause in court. Never physically resist police if they enter your residence or search you; just repeat “I do not consent to a search.

4. Do not incriminate yourself. If an officer asks you a question and answering honestly may incriminate you, then don’t answer (this is your Fifth Amendment right).

“Have you been drinking?” “Are there underage people consuming alcohol at this party?” “What is in your bag? Marijuana? Alcohol?” “How did you buy this alcohol? Did you use a fake ID?”—all of these questions can be answered with “I have no comment.” Make sure that you remain courteous even when refusing to answer questions. You might say, “Officer, I know you are just doing your job, but I have no comment about that/I wish to remain silent.

5. Don’t run. When police show up at a residence for a noise complaint and they see people running away, this will heighten suspicion. Most noise complaints, if handled properly, will involve a short interaction and a warning from the responding officers, so don’t give them any reason to investigate further.

On the road…

  1. Heed all the above advice. Being discreet in this situation means being aware of anything that may be in plain view of an officer who has pulled you over. If an officer asks you to step out of the car, then exit and lock and close your car door behind you. Do not consent to searches of your car or personal belongings or incriminate yourself. And, of course, be polite throughout the interaction no matter what happens.
  2. Show ID. As the driver, you are required to show your driver’s license to an officer if you are pulled over. Never show a fake ID to an officer, even if you are facing an underage possession charge. As a passenger, you should also show your real ID if asked.
  3. Refuse sobriety tests, but not the breathalyzer. As the driver, you can legally refuse to take roadside sobriety tests without any consequences (walking a straight line, touching your nose, etc.), but refusing a breathalyzer will result in an automatic revocation of your driver’s license for 1 year, whether or not you are charged with DUI. As a passenger, you can refuse a breathalyzer (whether or not you are underage) without any consequences.
  4. Give yourself plenty of time to sober up. After a heavy night of drinking, you may be surprised at how long it takes to get back to a 0.00 BAC, the only acceptable level for under 21 drivers (0.08 for 21 and over). A 160 lb man who consumes 8 drinks will need 12 hours to get back to 0.00 (check out this chart for more info: http://www.health.arizona.edu/health_topics/aod/hourstozerobac.htm). Sleeping it off for a few hours before driving home may not be enough to avoid a DUI, especially for underage drinkers, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time to sober up before you think about driving home. Better yet, have a designated driver or plan to take a cab to and from the party.
  5. Never give keys to an intoxicated driver. Even if they have only had a little. Letting a less drunk person drive you home can get you charged with aiding and abetting a DUI.

Get more info on how to handle police interactions, including videos, at http://www.flexyourrights.org/. To learn more about the law or for a free (that’s right, folks, I said FREE) legal consultation, visit Carolina Student Legal Services.

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Recommendations provided on this blog are not substitutions for medical care. Please seek professional guidance for your specific health care needs.

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