LETTERS: Seriousness of alcohol poisoning

To the Editor: Additionally, I am not in a position to know whether or not there is "a lot of binge drinking going on?." As a Health Educator who organizes alcohol and other drug education on campus, I am informed of egregious situations. Those situations do nothing to inform me of how extensive or not binge drinking is occurring. I am concerned that the article, in its attempt to inform, inadvertently minimized the seriousness of the situation. While I am not privy to the particulars of this case, if the account which was reported is accurate, then it is not as isolated a situation as could be interpreted. I have been informed by a number of sources that it is not uncommon for pledges to bartend at chapter events. Bartending can easily lead to high risk drinking if the bartender is having a "few sips here and there without thinking." However, let the public know that in order to reach the blood alcohol content of this particular student (factoring in the weight as reported), he would have had to "sip" the equivalent of 21!!! drinks (1 drink = 1 beer or 1 shot of "hard" liquor) over the course of 5 hours. A blood alcohol level of .356 is enough to cause death for some, permanent brain damage for others. He is a lucky, lucky fellow. I encourage any student who socializes in settings where "a few sips" can turn into 10 or more "without thinking" to stop by the Office of Health Education. I would be happy to help you explore ways to avoid hospitalizations or other trauma. Or better yet, join us for one of our awareness events this week. Kate Ward-Gaus Office of Health Education Career women To the editor: Having been involved with the Society of Women Engineers for two years and as a member of the committee that organized the society's corporate dinner, I do not feel that the article "Society of Women Engineers hosts professional dinner" (DP, 3/30/98) accurately reflected the mission of the society or the goal of that evening. The national organization aims to stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, to expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life and to demonstrate the value of diversity. The Penn student section holds these as our foremost goals, with many events planned throughout the year to further them. The goal of the corporate dinner, which fell well within the first part of the society's mission, was not only to learn more about the companies represented, which included both engineering and consulting companies, but also to learn more about what it is like to be a woman in a career remains predominantly male to this day. Sarah Winnacker SWE Vice President-Internal Engineering '00 Not off the mark To the Editor: In the April 6 "Word on the Walk" regarding the Nominations and Elections Committee's invalidation of the Undergraduate Assembly budget referendum, College freshman Angie Chan claimed that she was "mislead and misinformed" that "all performing arts groups and club sports were being jeopardized." If that was her belief, then she was neither mislead nor misinformed. By allocating $30,000 to the InterFraternity Council, the UA reduced the Student Activities Council's budget for annual allocations by nearly 10 percent. There is already fierce demand for SAC's limited financial resources; with the number of SAC groups constantly rising, the budget cuts that SAC will have to pass on to its member groups as a result of this action could pose severe hardships in the coming year. Every single SAC-funded group is in jeopardy as a result of the loss of this funding. Ron Isaacson PAC financial secretary Engineering '98