Friday, October 07, 2005
Man learned dangers of drunk driving tragically
 Mark Sterner was supposed to be the first in his family to graduate from college. Instead, he was the first member of his family to go to prison. Sterner will present his program, “DUI: A Powerful Lesson,” at 9 p.m. Wednesday, October 12, in Carter Hall in the University Center. He was at the wheel in a spring break drunken driving accident that resulted in the deaths of his three friends and fraternity brothers. He received three felony manslaughter convictions and spent three years in a Florida prison. During the week of spring break, the friends each took a turn as the designated driver. On their final night, they decided that the “least drunk” among them would drive. Although Sterner was less drunk than his friends, he was still impaired, and was held responsible for the accident and the deaths of his friends. “Would my friends be married now?” Sterner asks. “Would they have kids? I don’t know. I’ll wonder ‘what if’ for the rest of my life.” Sterner doesn’t want others to have to ask themselves the same questions. He shares his message with high school and college students across the country. To date, he has spoken to nearly a million students. The families of Sterner’s friends have encouraged his efforts to prevent impaired driving, and supported his reduced prison sentence so he could share his story. Sterner shows a video the men made during their trip. Images of laughing college kids driving from one bar to the next, downing shots of alcohol, and dancing are followed by still photos of the car after the crash. The program is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Office of Student Development Programs at 812/465-7167 The program is sponsored by Greek Life, Residence Life, First Year Initiatives (FYI) Program, Office of Student Affairs, Activities Programming Board, Living Learning Communities, and the Office of Student Development Programs. |
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