Trick or Drink

Remember when the only health risks surrounding Halloween involved candy? For many students, this Halloween provides an excuse to get drunk on a Wednesday. Some students took care of their partying during the weekend, but this Wednesday still poses health concerns for many Long Beach students and residents.

Festive times pose many different health problems at all colleges. UC Santa Barbara, which was rated by the Princeton Review as the seventh biggest party school in the United States, has implemented a week-long "no guest" policy which ends this Thursday. Isla Vista is a much larger monster than Long Beach, but the health and safety of students is a priority everywhere.

College students generally aren't too interested in candy during Halloween, unless it comes in the form of a gummy bear shot. Whenever drinking is happening, there is a threat of alcohol poisoning. The CSULB health service website has a list of ways to avoid alcohol poisoning, including eating before drinking and alternating between drinking alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Alcohol poisoning is a small danger in comparison to one of the biggest killers in America, drunk driving. According to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving website, California is the 21st ranked drunk driving state in the country. There were 791 drunk driving fatalities last year, which accounted for 29 percent of all traffic deaths.

picture via trafficsafetymarketing.gov/halloween2012

Not only can drunk driving be dangerous for you and for other drivers, but Halloween presents a lot of little kids hyped up on sugar. According to newsroom.dc.gov, drunk drivers killed three times more people nationwide on Halloween than on New Years.

Junior Annie Bolding, a Child Development/Family Studies major, will be going out on Halloween on Wednesday night. She will be going to bars in Venice with her boyfriend, but has a responsible way home. "I always take a cab wherever I go when we party," said Bolding. "I think if everyone would just call a cab we could get the drunk driving numbers down."

Other students aren't so big into the party scene this year. Junior Math Education major Corinne Ingalla said that she remembers going to parties her freshman year, but "I didn't go to any this year. I'm older and working, school is more of a priority now."

Obviously, the most sure-fire way to stay safe this Halloween is to not drink. Everyone knows that's not going to happen on college campuses, so there are other ways to prevent Halloween related health problems. Monitor how much you drink. Make solid plans. If you drink, have a ride home. Make arrangements to stay at a friends house. Use a Long Beach Bus, which is free with a student ID. Get a cab. Stay safe.