The Iowa State Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) chapter has a booth in the Memorial Union today to remind Iowa Staters to have a safe winter holiday.

ISU SADD President Chelsie Heffron said people can stop by from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to show their personal support against drinking and driving or to commemorate someone whose death was a result of drinking and driving.

Martha Norton, SADD adviser, said students “sign a name tag, the tag gets attached to a bow, and then that afternoon the bow will be placed on the hedges” in front of the Memorial Union.

The white bows represent lives taken by drunk driving and bear the names of victims to memorialize and remember them. The red bows indicate an individual’s support of SADD.

The red and white bows will decorate the hedges near the fountain north of the Memorial Union for the remainder of the semester.

Heffron said, “We’re going to have sandwich boards to explain what the bows represent so people know what they are there for.”

This is the third year the ISU SADD chapter will have the booth and hang the bows, Norton said.”We had over 100 bows the first year.”

The second year, she said, they had enough to cover the hedges. Norton said they have not had any trouble with participation.

She said it touches people when someone other than their family members remember and memorialize a loved one they have lost to drunk driving.

Norton said the rise in concern with drinking and driving derives from the increase in the amount of parties during the holiday season.

“People don’t always take advantage of the designated driver program because they don’t want to miss out,” she said.

Also at the booth, Norton said, the organization is serving mocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, to those who stop by and participate.

Anyone interested in becoming involved in the ISU’s SADD chapter, contact Chelsie Heffron at [email protected].

Drinking and Driving: The Facts

1 crash every 6.96 minutes

1.25 lives lost every day

97.29 injuries each day

37.2% of auto-accident fatalities were alcohol related in 1993

41% of fatalities among 16-20 year-olds were alcohol-related, the overall percentage is 37.2