By Nicole F. Park
Daily Titan Staff Writer

Bao Nguyen, 27, looks at the display of a mangled car that was involved in a drunk driving accident for an awareness campaign by MADD on Tuesday, November 3, 2009. Photo by Ron Fu/Daily Titan Staff Photographer

The Delta Zeta sorority at Cal State Fullerton is hosting a week of alcohol awareness on campus along with the help of Greeks Advocating for Mature Management of Alcohol (GAMMA) and the CSUF Student Health Center.

The three-day drunk driving awareness campaign kicked off Tuesday. A crumpled Toyota sedan sat inside a Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) trailer on Titan Walk. The trailer also displayed news clips and photos from the scene along with a full narrative of the accident. No names were used on the public display.

An intoxicated man fled from police in a high-speed vehicle pursuit, running numerous red lights and reaching speeds exceeding 100 mph. It was upon contact with the Toyota, which was carrying two men in their fifties, that the vehicle came to a stop. Both men, who had wives and children, died at the scene.

Jennifer Hampton, a human services major and vice president of programming for Delta Zeta, said that alcohol awareness is recognized every year within the sorority.

“Watching the video ‘Tell Me Something I Don’t Know’ is one of the national requirements for sororities. We usually watch the video, talk about facts and have a speaker come to the house. This year is different because we’re including everyone, not just Greeks,” Hampton said.

MADD’s Web site states three in 10 Americans will be involved in a drunk driving accident “at some time in their lives,” and a person is killed from a drunk driver every 45 minutes on average.

Corey Gant, sophomore in civil engineering, examines posted pictures and newspaper clips of the wrecked car on display in front of the CSUF bookstore. "It sucks," Gant said,” I actually had a friend who was killed by a drunk driver." Photo by Todd Barnes/Daily Titan Photo Editor

Hampton, 21, experienced her first alcohol-related accident when she was just 4 years old.

“I don’t remember much about it since I was so young, but I know I was in the car with my family at a red light and a drunk guys slammed into us,” she said. “We were just leaving McDonald’s.”

Although Hampton was virtually unharmed, her brother, who was 1 year old at the time, broke bones in both his legs in the collision. After the experience of being a victim of drunk driving, Hampton says that she has also witnessed the repercussions intoxicated drivers face.

“I also have a family member who got a DUI. She lost her license for three months and had more than $5,000 in fines, plus it was just embarrassing. We’re from a small town and everyone knew about it because she had to ride her bike everywhere,” Hampton said.

This week’s events come just one week after CSUF sociology major Jessica Shekell, who may have been driving under the influence of alcohol, was behind the wheel of the truck that killed two San Bernardino women.

“The timing was a complete coincidence. We’ve been planning this event since the summer. It was originally going to be during the actual National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, but that came on furlough week, so we pushed it to now,” GAMMA President Gladys Loza, 20, said.

Loza said the week’s events end on Thursday night with a presentation in the Titan Gym at 7 p.m. There, officers from the Fullerton Police Department will present the dangers of drinking and driving, drinking underage and excess drinking. A showing of the film “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” will follow the police presentation and the final event of the week will end with a speaker from MADD.

Delta Zeta President Malorie Juarez, 22, said the video is shown to Delta Zeta members nationally.

The film is based on a true story in which Scott Krueger, a Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brother at MIT, became intoxicated to the point of alcohol poisoning during a rush activity in 1997. Because his brothers did not know he was suffering from a life-threatening overdose of alcohol, Krueger died.

“His parents are in agreement for having the film shown to spread awareness,” Juarez said. “We want to help with the education not just of the Greeks, but of the entire campus.”