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Safe Spring Break Information to be Presented on Campus

PLATTSBURGH, NY __ With spring break (March 13-20) right around the corner, Plattsburgh State University of New York students will be reminded to act responsibly with several events scheduled for the week before.

Mark Sterner Speaker Mark Sterner's life changed drastically when three of his best friends and fraternity brothers were killed in a drinking and driving car crash during spring break. Sterner was at the wheel of the car, intoxicated. He ended up with three felony manslaughter convictions and spent three years in a Florida prison. He was scheduled to be the first in his family to graduate college. Instead, he was the first member of his family to go to prison.

During their week of spring break, the four friends each took a turn as the designated driver. On their final night, they fatefully decided that the "least drunk" among them would drive. Although Sterner was less intoxicated than his friends, he was still impaired and was held responsible for the accident and the deaths of his friends.

Sterner, who was last here in 1999, will show a video the men made during their trip. Images of laughing college kids driving from one bar to the next, downing shots of alcohol and dancing are followed by still photos of the car after the crash. The impact is incredible on students who quickly realize the dangers of their own drinking and driving decisions.

Sterner shares his message with high school and college students across the country. To date, he has spoken to nearly a million students.

The Panhellenic Council will have a totaled car, representing a drunk driving accident, sitting in Amite Plaza on Monday and Tuesday, March 8 and 9 to advertise the program and to distribute Safe Spring Break information. Honest Ed's Auto on Rugar Street will donate the car.

In addition, BACCHUS/GAMMA, a peer education student organization, will sponsor the Safe Spring Break Challenge the week of March 8 in the Angell College Center. Members of BACCHUS/GAMMA will encourage fellow students to make positive choices during spring break and challenge students to sign pledge cards.

Last year, thousands of college students across the nation "took the pledge" to be safe and drive sober during spring break. 

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