The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks,
The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and
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New RSO devised to help fight drinking and driving
While police officers across Illinois are doing their part every day on the streets to prevent drunken driving, a new SIUC student-run advertising organization is attempting to warn students of its dangers.
Social Norm (SONOR) is a new Registered Student Organization on campus that is funded by the Illinois Higher Education Center at Eastern Illinois University and the Great Plains Advertising Agency at Springfield. The group's goal is to increase student awareness to the potentially damaging effects of binge drinking and driving under the influence.
Group organizer and SIUC doctoral student Joe Baker said SONOR is designed like an advertising agency with a student management and working budget.
"SONOR is really an organization that is going to be based upon the same lines as any other marketing advertising company out in the real, wonderful world," Baker said.
The student organization is ready to get off the ground, but Baker said SONOR is in need of new members with the time and passion to volunteer to work within the organization. SONOR is non-paying.
The group needs specialists in public relations, marketing, graphic design/desktop publishing and artwork and also a general specialist to help with planning committees and provide help in any other areas.
Baker said student volunteers within the group would determine how SONOR would use its money in the most effective ways.
In addition to providing help in educating the public about the dangers of drunk driving, volunteers would also attend a one-day workshop at SIUC on social marketing and social norming and participate at the two-day Campus Alcohol and Traffic Safety Conference in Springfield in February 2004.
SONOR is funded by a grant that is supported by both the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Great Plains Advertising Agency.
"The person who founded that company, the president and founder, is very interested in doing what he can to support the efforts to reduce alcohol use, binge drinking and especially the driving under the influence issue," Baker said. "The unnecessary crashes and loss of life is just too much. This is one of his ways of giving back to the community and trying to help a local cause to save lives."
In a college town like Carbondale, Baker thinks SONOR could have a tremendous impact in deterring students from driving after having too much to drink.
"Most of us know, but not all of us know, that it's foolish, it's dangerous and it's irresponsible," Baker said. "You can jeopardize not only your own life but also friends in your car, people in the street, people in other automobiles.
"Just in a moment's time, a poor judgment can ruin your life and others. If you're lucky enough just to simply get caught, that can be itself a very long and painful and expensive process."
