Univ. Drinking Demonstration

By LISA CORNWELL
Associated Press Writer

AKRON, Ohio (AP) The "CopaBuzz" demonstration on the dangers of
drinking has been scrapped at the University of Akron after a student
volunteer was hospitalized for drinking too much vodka.

University officials said Friday that they will find another way to observe
Alcohol Awareness Week.

David Reynolds, 24, a civil engineering major, was hospitalized Wednesday
night after drinking so much vodka that he became fallingdown drunk. He
was released the next day.

Reynolds and two other student volunteers were supposed to drink just
enough to hit a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent, slightly below the
0.10 percent limit for driving in Ohio, and then perform a sobriety test.

The demonstration was intended to show how even small amounts of alcohol
can hamper motor skills. By the time police arrived, Reynolds was slumped
and having trouble walking.

No one was able to say how much Reynolds drank. Police didn't check his
bloodalcohol level before he went to the hospital.

"It was never the intention of the program to get anyone drunk," said David
Stephen, university director of residence life and housing.

Some of the school's 24,000 students were critical of the program.

"At first I thought it was a joke," said Pamela Reno, an 18yearold
freshman from New York. "I couldn't believe that someone could get drunk in
a schoolsponsored event."