Warrior Day is just around the corner, and the University Police Department (UPD) and Housing & Residential Life (Housing) are making sure that students stay safe by not drinking and driving.
This Warrior Wednesday, UPD and Housing hosted an event called SMART Day.
“SMART Day is Students Managing Alcohol Responsibly Together. It’s right before Warrior Day for a reason,” Housing Program Coordinator Maryann Aydenian said.
Warrior Day will be held in the amphitheater on Friday, May 12, and will be featuring artist IAMSU, who is known for hit songs “Only That Real” and “T.W.D.Y,” as well as Clyde Carson, House DJ, Banda San Clemente and Gotcha Covered. Over 200 attendees are expected.
UPD and Housing are aware that students typically drink alcohol during events like Warrior Day, so they have put on SMART Day to “just get everybody aware of what’s going on, make smart decisions, throw it out there ‘cause we know they’re gonna do it [drink alcohol],” Aydenian said.
“In 2015, 10,265 people died in drunk driving crashes – one every 51 minutes – and 290,000 were injured in drunk driving crashes,” according to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) website.
Regardless of the risks, many students will choose to drink alcohol during Warrior Day. SMART Day sheds light on many facets of drinking.
“What it is is raising awareness that drinking and driving isn’t the thing to do, and even if you do consider drinking, these are the way[s] to handle yourselves,” Housing Program Assistant Tajee Carey (junior, Psychology) said.
According to the university website, there are several tips to keep in mind when drinking alcohol:

• Choose not to drink too much yourself and help others not do it.
• If you choose to drink alcohol, follow the U.S. Dietary Guidelines on moderate alcohol consumption (no more than one drink per day for women and no more than 2 drinks per day for men).
• Support effective community strategies to prevent excessive alcohol use, such as those recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task Force.
• Not serve or provide alcohol to those who should not be drinking, including children or teens and those who have already drank too much.
• Talk with your health care provider about your drinking behavior and request counseling if you drink too much.

Upperclassmen who are familiar with Warrior Day believe that SMART Day is important.
“I think that’s great because then it’s trying to get people to be safe on Warrior Day, which doesn’t happen sometimes,” Ben Kilburn (senior, Kinesiology) said.
Freshmen also realize the significance of drunk driving.
“I think it’s very informative to students because there [are] students that go out and drink before Warrior Day, so it’s kind of like advice saying don’t drink too much or don’t drink at all. Be safe. Don’t go in a car if someone’s driving drunk,” Mary Vardeh (freshman, Math) said.
Kilburn and Vardeh plan on being safe while they attending this year’s event.
Housing will also provide pizza and water during Warrior Day.
“That will be our part in trying to keep people nourished and hydrated,” Aydenian said.
Aydenian’s advice to students is “just be safe. Make a smart decision. Be smart!”