The wrecked pickup outside Bauman Auditorium gave students a visual reminder of the dangers of drunk driving - photo by Scott Brown
Alcohol awareness week drives home dangers of drunkenness
Bridgette Harmon, News Editor
October 24, 2007
Student Life sponsored Alcohol Awareness Week on campus last week, Oct. 15 through Oct. 19. Vickie Kibler, a Newberg businesswoman and the mother of a George Fox student who was killed by a drunk driver, spoke on Oct. 17 about her family's experience. Her son Patrick Kibler died on Dec. 22, 2004, during his senior year as a business administration major at George Fox.
The wreckage of a red Ford pickup was parked outside Bauman Auditorium during Alcohol Awareness Week to provide a visual warning against the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Statistics about drunk driving were posted on the smashed pickup, including:
- Drunk driving is the nation's most frequently committed violent crime, killing someone approximately every 30 minutes.
- Forty-one percent of all crashes in Oregon in 2006 involved an intoxicated driver.
- The highest intoxication rates in fatal crashes in 2001 were recorded for drivers between 21 and 24 years of age
Many George Fox students were confused by the week-long campaign against drinking and driving, since students have to sign a contract upon admission stating they will not drink any alcohol while attending the university. Others believe the alcohol awareness week was based on a realistic assessment of the drinking habits of George Fox students.
Statistics displayed on tables in the Klages Dining Hall and Bruin Den supported the latter belief. One statistic said, "7.2 percent of George Fox students have driven after consuming alcohol in the last 30 days."
Dot Tobey, senior writing/literature major and member of the ASC chaplain's committee, said: "This week further enhances the university's policy against alcohol and helps us understand the impact of this problem in society. We won't always be on contract, and hopefully this information will encourage us to make wise decisions in the future."
Four years ago, Kibler and his younger brother were hit by Cory Sause, a 26-year-old law student at Lewis and Clark College. Patrick Kibler died soon afterward from a severed aorta, and his 14-year-old brother, Scott Kibler, was in a coma with a fractured skull, two deflated lungs and many broken limbs, said Kibler's mother.
Sause's blood-alcohol level was at .19 percent two hours after the accident, according to news reports, which is over twice the legal limit of .08 percent. The Lake Oswego Review also reported that the records at Lewis and Clark College show that Sause did not graduate.
In honor of their son the Kibler family started the Patrick Kibler Memorial Fund to benefit business majors at George Fox. Currently, the fund provides money for groups in the business administration senior capstone course to start their own businesses. One half of the net income from each team's business goes back into the Kibler Fund, and the other half is split among the team members.
"The Kibler Fund is slowly but steadily growing," said Dirk Barram, the business professor for the senior capstone course. "Students are getting a first hand taste of how to create and operate a business."
This comes at a crucial time when George Fox employees were given "the freedom of Spirit-led conscience in deciding whether to consume alcoholic beverages in moderation when not in the presence of students from traditional undergraduate programs" in April of this year. Prior to April 2007, George Fox faculty were not allowed to consume alcohol at any time.