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Designated drivers
"Dear Ann Landers: Thank you for printing that column about the college student who was drugged and date-raped. The most important suggestion was that friends keep an eye on one another and escort someone home if need be.
When I was I college a few years ago, my sorority had a formal "buddy system" for checking on one another at parties. We were not allowed to attend a party alone, and at each event, one of us was the designated "Sober Sister" and was not permitted to drink. This sister checked on the rest of us every half-hour to be sure we were okay. If the "Sober Sister" told us we'd had enough to drink, we were honor-bound to listen.
When a sorority member was ready to leave the party, we had to do three things: Find another sorority sister to walk us home, tell at least two others that we were leaving and with whom, and make sure we do not leave a sister at the party alone.
I thought the buddy system was terrific. It kept us out of trouble and allowed us to respect ourselves in the morning. Since then, my girlfriends and I have adopted the system when we go bar-hopping. We always go in groups, one of us remains sober for the evening, and we escort home anyone who seems drunk.
It is a lot easier to have fun when you can relax knowing someone will bring you home safely. Please tell other women to consider it.
Sorority Girl Forever"
How cute was the way she signed that? Anyway, I thought that was a good (if not strict) system there. My sisters and I aren't as stringent as that...we used to have DD's for everything, but now we just go forth with our drinking and honestly evaluate the situation if driving has to be done. Usually we are on frat row and can walk home or are downtown and can take the "Lator Gator" so it isn't even a problem. It works because there's always always always at least one girl who just isn't the mood to drink that night, or quits after a sip. And even in the worst circumstances we will go crazy looking after each other in our drunkest states. I've already had two hysterical episodes where our sisters were missing (ok, it would have been nice to be sober b/c I would have remained calm!) and also there has never been a time that we didn't check on each other (like when my drunk sister broke down a door for me)...
GC'ers, do you have a system for when you go out drinking or do you just basically fly by the seat of your pants? Does your GLO assign DD's for social events? Spring semester our Alumni Advisor informed us that we couldn't formally assign people to be DD for our socials anymore b/c of insurance purposes. (Or was it considered hazing? No, I'm pretty sure it was insurance...) I thought was a shame b/c almost the whole chapter would be able to act as DD since you can't drink at socials unless you're 21+, anyway, not including Exec (b/c I believe Exec can't drink at socials.) But I see a little logic behind it. Imagine the headlines: "Drunk sorority sister killed when forced into car with designated driver." Not that the drunks would resist being driven anyway. Ugh, it's a sticky topic.
ps: just to clarify, we never ever get behind the wheel drunk! We know that it risks lives. And even if someone says, "No, I'm ok, really," and can drive adequately, there is always the freak chance you'll be pulled over (esp. in our cop-filled college town) and if you are caught drunk driving you will probably be kicked out of school. Just for added reminders to be safe, we also have a million and one memorials on city sidewalks for people who have died in car accidents.
Last edited by ROWDYsister; 06-11-2002 at 02:42 PM.
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