College students usually think they know everything there is to know about alcohol.

But there is a lot more to alcohol than parties and fun. There are serious consequences that could result – consequences like alcohol poisoning and death.

As Greek Alcohol Awareness week kicks off, Sarah Glasock, greek substance abuse coordinator for health services, and Jessica Sempek, alcohol education coordinator, gave a presentation on the risk of over drinking and facing alcohol poisoning.

About 100 women attended the event, mostly from the sororities represented on Eastern’s campus.

Glasock and Sempek spoke on understanding individual BAC (blood alcohol content) levels and handed our personalized cards to the audience depending on weight.

The added effect of drugs heightens the possibility for problems.

“You run the risk of killing yourself,” Sempek said.

They emphasized that tolerance is not the same for everyone. Tolerance is simply the amount of alcohol needed to get the effect.

If a person exceeds their tolerance, there can be damaging effects.

“Vital organs can be slowed to the point of stopping,” Glasock said.

Glasock shared stories about her experiences with alcohol poisoning during police ride alongs and Sempek said she has also seen what over drinking can do to a person.

“So many times people say, oh ha ha, they’re just drunk, but too much alcohol can be fatal,” Sempek said.

The women stressed that it is important to realize that a person may die if they are passed out. In any minute, that person may slip into a coma, and it could be fatal.

After the slide show presentation, four volunteers from Delta Zeta sorority participated in a demonstration on what people can do if one of their friends is passed out. The audience took part by coaching the four along, from the points they learned in the presentation.

Audience members found the information to be very helpful.

“It was very informative,” Beckie Diehl, a sophomore middle level education major, said.

“I think it was really good and it showed people what we don’t realize about alcohol,” Nicole Samford, a sophomore marketing major, said.

Sempek is an Eastern alumna, and said she chose this line of work because she found it to be very interesting and wanted to help people be aware.

Glasock graduated from Monmouth College as a Pi Beta Phi and is currently enrolled mastering in student affairs at Eastern.

She said she has always been highly involved in greek life, and wanted to continue it throughout her career.

“Preventative education is something that I am still learning about,” Glasock said.

Glasock and Sempek handed out pamphlets after the presentation for the audience to stay informed.

For more information, contact the Health Education Resource Center at 581-7786.