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Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to “Be Green for Halloween” and participate in the inaugural Green Zone mixer at College Hill Tavern 4-6 p.m. Friday.
Timothy Silvestri, coordinator of Drug and Alcohol Services in the Lafayette Counseling Center, says the idea for Green Zone developed from the effort to reduce high-risk drinking on campus.
Green Zone refers to the concept of “Staying in your Green Zone” or between the 0.00 and 0.06 blood-alcohol concentration parameters. It is reported that students who remain in the Green Zone have more fun and experience fewer negative consequences in their academic performance and interpersonal lives.
“The idea with Green Zone is that below 0.06 blood-alcohol concentration the stimulating affects of alcohol happen but negative consequences are not likely,” Silvestri explains. “It limits the negative consequences that affect academic performance. When people go past a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.06, the alcohol tends to affect their performance the next day.”
Rather than promoting complete abstinence from alcohol for those of legal age, Silvestri hopes “Be Green for Halloween” will provide a safe and enjoyable environment for participants. With security on hand to control who is served and greater awareness of tolerance limits, he says the event will be less stressful and out of control than alternatives.
“Students are excited about the idea,” he says.
Some Lafayette students already have BAC (blood-alcohol concentration) cards that use information such as gender, weight, amount of alcohol consumed, and type of alcohol consumed to give an accurate estimate of a person’s blood-alcohol concentration.
A collaborative effort of Lafayette Activities Forum and the Alcohol Oversight Committee, Green Zone events will become regular fixtures on campus with three to four per semester. BAC cards will be available at “Be Green for Halloween” Friday at College Hill Tavern.