Late Night Kickoff Irresponsible

By Staff     Sep 21, 2004

No matter which school you attended, there are two time-tested, foolproof facts about college. First off, college students will never have so little responsibility and so much freedom again in their lives. Secondly, this irresponsibility shows the most when alcohol is involved. Two incidents in the last month in my native state of Colorado demonstrated college students’ naÃive attitudes towards the danger of alcohol. On the evening of September 6, Colorado State freshman Samantha Spady was found dead inside a Fort Collins, Colo. fraternity house. An investigation found that Spady started drinking beer while watching a college football game, and finished the night by polishing off a bottle of vodka. By the early hours of the next morning, Spady consumed the equivalent of 30 to 40 beers enough to poison her 19-year-old body. The local coroner found that Spady’s blood alcohol level was 0.436, well above the 0.400 level considered lethal. Last week, down I-25 from Fort Collins, University of Colorado freshman Lynn Gordon Bailey was also found dead inside a fraternity house. After drinking a lethal dose of alcohol and passing out, Bailey’s friends reportedly drew on his face with markers, unaware that the 18-year-old had swallowed his last breath. In both cases, the universities came down hard on the parties involved. Colorado State even banned the sale of beer at football games, a preemptive strike against students who can’t control their alcohol intake. Here in Lawrence, administrators at the University of Kansas are also facing tough choices when it comes to alcohol and athletics. On Monday, KU officials should receive word about their request to move their home football game against Kansas State on October 9 to the witching hour of 9 p.m. Football coach Mark Mangino and Athletics Director Lew Perkins want the kickoff time moved so it could be shown on national television. However, both Mangino and Perkins have a greater responsibility to the Lawrence community than exposure on FOX Sports Net. A 9 p.m. start time would be a stupid and potentially fatal decision one that could make the two recent deaths in Colorado fall on deaf ears. At 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, most college students have a one-tracked mind. If you aren’t intoxicated by that point in the weekend, you should – at the very least – be on your way. Throw in the additional pull of a football game against an in-state rival, the blood alcohol level of the KU student section on October 9 will equal your average night out with John Daly. It’s true that the university does not allow alcohol in the stadium but students will certainly drink beforehand and sneak liquor past the unsuspecting security guards. Once the game is over, there’s no telling where these inebriated students will choose to drive. I’m not saying that the athletics department is responsible for this type of behavior. But on the other hand, it shouldn’t encourage it with a 9 p.m. starting time. On paper, every student who bothers to show up at Memorial Stadium should be responsible enough to handle a college football game that will end well after midnight. Two recent incidents in Colorado, however, prove otherwise.**Week Four Predictions (Last Week: 1-4, Season 8-5): Kansas 31, Texas Tech 24:** Red Raiders are unstoppable at home, pushovers on the road. **Chiefs 24, Texans 17: **Chiefs pick up their first win of the year against a Houston team that’s headed downhill. As for the Chiefs, they’re headed towards a 1-4 start. **Lawrence High 17, Shawnee Mission East 10:** Lions made progress last week, this week it shows up in the win column. **Shawnee Mission West 23, Free State 21:** Firebirds fall short against surprising Vikings. **Upset Special: Northwestern 27, Minnesota 13.** Wildcats build on Saturday’s win over Kansas by downing Big 10 frontrunner.**Big Tex’s Predictions (Romary Last Week: 1-4, Season 6-7): Texas Tech 49, Kansas 35: **I was a believer until that debacle up in Evanston. There’s no excuse for losing that game. **Chiefs 17, Texans 13:** Somebody say snoozer? What happened to the lovable, huggable, high scoring team we’ve come to know? **Lawrence High 24, SM East 10:** A Thursday night game on the road is exactly what the doctor ordered. Put it on the board, YYEEESSS. **Free State 24, SM West 17:** Firebirds won’t let Lions become only team in town with a win. **Upset Special (yeah, I’m 0 for 2): Stanford 31, USC 28 ** Last year Cal:this year the Cardinal!! Go Trees!

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