Student Zach Cuevas walked into the exercise feeling sure of himself. "Well, I was pretty confident at first," Cuevas said. Then the goggles went on. "But then when I put those goggles on, I was like, yeah, all that went out the window," he said.
The program is RISE, short for Risk Intervention & Safety Education. Serena Shade, its senior director, said it focuses on prevention training and student well-being. She described the goal as harm reduction for students who have new independence in college.
The goggles impair vision, Shade said, which makes it easy to step on things or hit things in a car. "I think sometimes students drink and still think that they're okay to operate a vehicle or engage in other activities," she said. Her message is blunt. Even one drink means a person should not drive.
For students who plan to drink, Shade recommends going with a friend who will hold you accountable, drinking water after every alcoholic beverage, and eating something first. She also wants a plan for getting home: a sober driver in the group, an Uber, or for Texas Tech students, Raider Ride.
Raider Ride drives students around campus from 6 p.m. To 2:45 a.m., seven days a week.