KIRSTEN LEE

Friends don't let friends pass out by roads

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Posted: 4/25/08

As the class of 2008 begins its graceful exit from this town, mass reflection and nostalgia have begun to cloud my mind.

I, like many of my peers, cannot believe I am facing the end of my college daze. I have been privy to the awesomeness of this college town and all of the fun-filled debauchery it brings. With that being said, I must relay my experience of a night this past fall that was quite alarming.

In no way is the following meant to be a deterrent from enjoying the most unique four years of a young person's life. These times are like no other and should be taken full advantage of.

It was midnight in late November. I was driving my best friends back to their apartment.

Yes, I sacrificed a night of my final days in Athens to be the sober driver. I had just turned off of Broad Street onto a residential road off Milledge Avenue when I saw a cab stopped in the road. There is nothing shocking about a cab on a Saturday night in Athens. Right?

The door to the cab was open when suddenly a beautiful blonde girl wearing an adorable black dress fell out of the cab and lay motionless in the leaves on the side of the road.

Honestly, my first reaction was laughter. You would have laughed too.

But my laughter ended quickly. No one followed this girl out of the cab. I expected a gaggle of girls to exit the cab echoing a drunken version of my laughter. But only the cab driver exited the van with what looked like the girl's shoes. He was about to get back in the car and drive away when I jumped out.

I'm sure this girl didn't get in the cab downtown and say, "How much to drop me off passed out on the side of the road?" So I yelled, "Hey! Is she OK?"

The cab driver explained the girl couldn't tell him where she lived and had passed out. He didn't want to get her arrested so he was just going to let her "wake up on her own."

Apparently Section II, Article 5 of the cab driver manual says "Leave drunken girls in fluffy piles of leaves on the sides of roads to regain consciousness."

Alarmed by his solution, I got my girlfriends to help me put "Miss Wasted Face 2007" in the back of my car.

Once in my car, I had to figure out what I was going to do with her and her bloody elbows and knees. After struggling to speak the native tongue from the country of "I don't even know my own name so I definitely don't know where I live," I realized why the cab driver gave up.

Eventually my friends and I managed to decipher the name of a sorority house. Once at the house I had to awkwardly knock on the door and hoped someone would come and claim their prize. I now know how Ed McMahon felt.

It turns out that Betty Boozer actually was not in that sorority nor was she even Greek at all. But a girl in the house knew a girl whose roommate was her friend, so they called her.

I knew the girl was going to be OK, so I went home. My story is not directed at all toward the girl who was drunk, nor to anyone who has been that drunk before. I know everyone gets a little out of hand at least once before they exit this town.

I am not condoning her behavior either. There are obvious and serious dangers to being that intoxicated, and being in this kind of state should be avoided.

However, I ask, where were her friends? Where were the people she was out with at one point in the night? I blame you. What if I was "the dirty white van man" or someone with worse intentions?

Once in this condition, there is nothing anyone can do to get themselves out of this state quickly. When you are too drunk to stand, your friends should be there to carry you home.

As a proud Greek, I've been accused of "buying my friends." Well, at least I paid full price for amazing women who are there to support one another …literally.

To all of the gorgeous, bright, funny and irresistibly charming women at the University, be careful and watch out for one another. Because we all have those nights, and we have to keep each other safe.

- Kirsten Lee is a senior from Evans majoring in public relations and speech communication.