Drunk driving is no stranger to college campuses, especially across Colorado, with many universities prioritizing promoting safety among students who choose to drink.
Since January, 78 individuals have been charged with DUIs between the ages of 16 and 24 in Colorado. Of the total number of accidents so far this year for the same age group, 142 of them have been suspected to involve alcohol.
More than 100 Universities across the nation, including schools in Colorado, like Colorado State University and the University of Colorado-Boulder, have partnered with Lyft, a well-known rideshare company for free or subsidized rides on campus. The University of Denver (DU) is following suit and looking to launch a new initiative with Lyft.
Lyft has many benefits, and since its founding, there has been a significant decrease in drunk driving numbers. Additionally, as of April 2018, Lyft’s rides are carbon neutral after their purchase of 2,062,500 metric tons of carbon offsets. With carbon offset at the forefront of DU’s values, this partnership would allow the university to uphold one of its many values along with creating an environment that facilitates student safety.
Undergraduate Student Government (USG) CAHSS Senator Kenna Stephen has been lobbying on behalf of her fellow students to get reduced-fee rides for students during specific times, especially on weekends, to limit the amount of potential drunk driving.
Stephen, while still in the proposal stage of the collaboration, feels passionate about how the “late night ride program” will only benefit DU’s campus. “I think a lot of people — until something really tragic happens — don’t realize how common drunk driving is,” she says. “Especially around a college campus, because it happens so often under the radar.”
After conducting an anonymous poll of seventy students in Colorado, 27.5% of respondents indicated that they had driven drunk or buzzed at some point, and 95.1% of them know someone who has driven under the influence of alcohol.
While DU has a campus shuttle and has provided students with RTD passes, there is no safe option for late-night transportation. “This is not a substitute for [existing resources],” Stephen says. “We are trying to show how this program can complement those programs and help students.”
In addition to these resources, Campus Security is the full-service safety department of the university. They respond to calls of all varieties, including medical, fire, burglary and drinking.
Sergeant Kimo Malott has primarily worked the night shift for the past 18 years. He loves working the hockey games and genuinely cares about students and their safety. The majority of the students within his jurisdiction live on campus. “We aren’t looking for drunk people or even underage people. We are looking for people who are unsafe and far beyond the level to take care of themselves safely,” he says. “I have my list of B’s for our EMS: being carried, barfing, bleeding, breaking things, broken, barefoot.”
Recently, Campus Security has implemented its own app, DU Safe. This new safety resource will track you from your current location to the intended destination. If for some reason you veer off course, they will send an officer to confirm your safety and whereabouts. The app is another way to fulfill Campus Safety’s number one job: to make sure everyone gets home safely.
“We want everyone to wake up just as many times as they go to sleep,” Malott emphasized.
There are patterns in drinking habits on a college campus. Notorious weeks include orientation week, spring break and the weeks following. Warmer weather correlates with an increase in drinking calls for Campus Security, but winter weather is unsuspectingly more dangerous.
With low temperatures of -11 this February, the cold is another incentive for students to resort to driving around campus under the influence. With many students in Colorado expressing that drinking and driving is a common phenomenon, creating an environment where students can contact resources for safety is vital.
When speaking on the potential Lyft partnership, Stephen reiterated, “We want to give students another option so they never feel like their best option is to get behind the wheel when they’ve been drinking.”
No matter the weather, the peak time for Sergeant Kimo and his patrol officers on duty is when the bars close. These times are when late-night rideshares would be most beneficial. “The Lyft would be open from when the sun goes down to two or three in the morning,” Stephen says.
While the new DUSafe app and the rideshare program with Lyft are incredible resources for students at DU, understanding the dangers that come with consuming alcohol at night starts with the basics. “Don’t leave your friends, even if they’re annoying,” Malott advises. “We have the amnesty program, so if you are drunk but your friend is wasted and you call for help, you won’t get in trouble.”
The DU amnesty program is designed to reduce barriers to students taking immediate action for fear of being held responsible for alcohol and drug-related Honor Code violations.
Stay safe and practice using your resources by saying hello to your campus safety officers, don’t be afraid to call for help and use the buddy system. Above all, avoid driving under the influence.
