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A couple weeks ago, I woke up with an odd craving for orange juice. Fine, it was 2 o'clock in the morning, and the obvious place to go was the Circle K around the block.
Unfortunately, the first one did not have the right O.J., nor did the second. Oh well. While driving, though, I could not help but notice all the students milling around at such a late hour. Granted, it was the first Saturday after school started, the sec ond night where drinking was allowed after sorority rush, and the week before fraternity rush. Everyone I saw was getting to know each other and was having a good time before the grind of school really began.
What I couldn't believe was the number of young people lying outside the Stadium and La Paz dorms. It was sort of cute seeing all these couples sitting on the grass looking drunk. At the time, a thought came to mind: I wondered how many sexual assaults th ere would be that night and how many would be reported.
This problem transcends class standings and ages, but as people grow older, they become more responsible. Mind you, this is the first time that freshmen are away from home. With this lack of parental guidance, alcohol comes into play like never before. Th is gives students the opportunity to drink on a regular basis, something they might not be accustomed to. They lose their inhibitions. Yes, inebriated people get "beer goggles," become horny, and end up doing things that they would not normally do, like h aving unplanned sex.
This leads me to another thought: How many of these students who are about to enter such a dangerous situation are legal adults? According to the UA Department of Institutional Research, approximately 2 percent of the students at the UA are between the ag es of 15 - 17. So, about 540 of them are considered minors, with the majority of them being 17.
How many of these 17-year-olds did I see lounging on the university's lawns and streets? How many of them ended up drinking and then doing something they might regret? The difference between the 18-year-old and the 17-year-old is that the age of consent i n Arizona is 18.
In Arizona, sexual conduct with a minor 15 years of age or over is a class six felony. Lack of knowledge is no excuse, nor is ignorance of the law. Although a class six felony is the least serious felony, it can carry real consequences. It is up to the ju dge to pass a judgment that can be no less than six months and no longer than 1.5 years. Also, the fines may not exceed $150,000. If it is the person's first offense, however, the judge can lower the charge to a class one misdemeanor, which means only six months in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. Most likely, however, with a class one misdemeanor, the charges will be dismissed.
Any time that sexual intercourse involves drinking, it is not considered consensual. It then becomes a case of alcohol-induced rape, where either one or both of the parties had been drinking. According to Acting Lieutenant Brian A. Seastone, the Universit y of Arizona Police Department spokesperson, since 1992, every documented case of sexual assault has been traced to alcohol. In simpler language, every reported rape on campus happens because one of the parties is impaired by alcohol, with four being repo rted in 1995.
Although freshmen may be more prone to such risks, this is a serious situation for all students at the university, be they undergrads or graduate students. Whether the student is a freshman, transfer student, or first-year graduate student, he or she is i n a new atmosphere. It is a new situation, with new people. Alcohol will only impair a person's decisions and impede common sense.
It turned out that there were no sexual assaults reported from that Saturday night when I was out driving. That Saturday, however, was just the beginning of a vicious cycle of irresponsible drinking that could lead to sexual assaults this year.
Jeremy Pepper is a philosophy senior. His column, 'Dash of Pepper,' appears every other Thursday.
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