The University Board sponsored workshop “DUI: Are you in or are you out?,” designed to show the dangers of drinking and driving, was held Wednesday night.

Tina Leonard of the Counseling Center suggested several measures to help a friend get alcohol consumption under control.

“Develop options besides drinking like bowling or playing cards. There were a lot of things that I got involved in that did not involve drinking,” she said. “Explore the idea of non-alcoholic drinks.”

Leonard said sometimes a bad experience makes people think twice about being safe rather than sorry.

Lieutenant Chris Stone of the University Police Department said students, usually freshmen, think drinking is a “right of passage” into college.

“There are 25 to 26 percent of students who are drinking enough alcohol that they are not making good decisions,” Stone said. “If every other drink is water then you tend to not be dehydrated and you tend to not have a hangover when you wake up.”

Stone said hard alcohol, beer and wine are considered drinks, and one does not get as drunk as fast.

On the other hand compared to a Long Island iced tea, which is a mixture of alcohol, one gets drunk a lot faster, he said.

Stone said, “It takes planning and knowledge to stay at a level where one has the ability to fully know what is happening around them.”

If you do not drink, you are in the majority, Stone said. “Don’t be the silent majority.”

The student conduct code states on a student’s second alcohol citation that Eastern knows about, a letter will be sent to the parents of the student.

Stone said there have been times where people who have been drinking handed the police their false identification.

“Being caught with a fake ID will cost you a driver’s license for one year. Having someone else’s ID may result in a felony,” he said. “One does not have a constitutional right to have a driver’s license.”

Stone encouraged those who do drink to drink responsibly and not to get behind the wheel of a vehicle.