News | 3/6/08

Roughly 400 students, which were predominantly Towson athletes and members of Greek Life, attended speaker Mark Sterner's cautionary true story about drinking and driving.

"How many people have ever done anything stupid before when they were drunk?" Sterner asked.

Raised hands filled the University Union Chesapeake Rooms.

Sterner continued with a series a questions pertaining to drinking, ending with, "How many of you can say you've killed three best friends?"

No one raised a hand.

A combination of campus organizations put together the event including, Towson Athletics, Greek Life, the Substance Education Concerns Committee and the Counseling Center.

"It was a very powerful, sobering presentation…to hear a real story like that, not just some one up there talking about what if. Hopefully the people who were here and listened to it, take it to heart and recognize that this could happen to them very easily," Jim Spivack, director of the Counseling Center, said. "We're concerned about the welfare and safety of our students so we feel that we need to present the most powerful messages we can about how to keep them safe."

According to Spivack, football head coach Gordy Combs made it mandatory for his team to show up, but was not sure if other sports teams were required to attend. Athletes were required to sign in before entering the event.

Phi Mu member Elizabeth Connelly, made it mandatory for her sorority sisters to attend the event.

"We always try to attend at least one risk management event a month… the topic seemed appropriate before Spring Break," Connelly said.

Sterner began his lecture with a video he and his friends made on their last night of Spring Break in Florida. "I've never watched this tape and laughed with my friends, because 15 minutes after we made it, three of my friends died," he said.

Sterner told the audience that his friends voted him the most sober that night with a blood alcohol concentration of .17, twice the legal limit. He drove the car that killed three of his friends. Only Sterner and one other friend survived.

Members of Tau Kappa Epsilon, attended the event to show support for Sterner, a former member of the same Greek Life organization.

"Hearing somebody talk about all the destructive decisions about drinking is important to hear, especially hearing it from one of my brothers," Rob Frazier, a TKE member, said.

"We all decided we were going to come because he's one of our brothers…people talk about how you shouldn't drink and drive…but when you have somebody show you first hand…it hits a little harder."