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12 LIFE-STYLE 13

Clubbed Death Inspirational

Talk by the

To well-known

any people are wondering just how common the new trend Thai radio and
of ‘partying’ has become. According to a random question- TV presenter,
Mnaire of Stamford students averaging 20 years old, nearly
10 out of 15 people go out clubbing at least once a week. Knowing
how famous and affordable club life is in Bangkok, many teenagers Woody
grow up having the vision that this is what fun is about. In fact, I have
viewed multiple times underage people being carried out of clubs in Milintachinda
an alcohol induced unconscious state. It is not difficult to understand
how every single girl found in such condition is a potential rape vic-
tim. Even though these cases are spreading, we see very little in terms A Change of Mindsets
of the real statistics. This is most likely because this will create a bad
image for the country, and the victims themselves do not want to re- There have been many events and workshops at school that I felt
port incidents. did not need my presence. This past Thursday, I was entirely wrong.
Throughout the week, Aj. Daved Forde kept reminding us a work-
Only a couple of years ago (beginning of 2000s’), people with higher shop was to take place that we could write about, but I was not sure I
social status were the primary club visitors, done purely for publicity was going to attend. However, I did show up, among the first people
and status. A club regular is willing to pay up to 10,000 baht for a ta- in the hall and waited. I won’t lie as I expected to be disappointed or
ble to have “fun time.” I, personally encountered a man who bought bored. The School President and CEO of Laureate both attended as
bottles of expensive alcohol specifically to attract so called ‘gold dig- did most of the Comm Arts Faculty. I began to think this event was
gers’ and believe me, it worked. being taken seriously—I mean, the CEO is here?
You could feel the energy and excitement in the hall. I am not a Thai
The majority of the clubs in Bangkok hire “Public Relations” repre- National, and I had no prior knowledge of who the guest speaker
sentatives who walk around students and create buzz. Each drink in was. I did notice that most Thai students were on the edge of their
the club will average 200 baht, and it is a well known practice to mix seats, cameras and phones ready to capture the second the guest
alcohol so that bar doesn’t lose profit. Busy, big clubs aren’t places walked in.
with quality drinks—their main concern in Bangkok is to attract as For a TV personality with his own show, I expected a tailored suit,
many young women as possible. Bar owners understand that men shoes that could kill a cockroach from a distance, perfume that
will enter clubs not for the quality of the drinks but for the quality of would permeate the whole hall, and a sleek laid-back hairstyle. In-
potential “fun.” stead, before us stood a man in a baby blue tracksuit with Nikes.
Apparently comfortable in his own skin, Mr Woody waltzed into
A very unfortunate incident happened to a friend of mine who also the hall, bottle of water in hand and a smile on his face.
studied in Bangkok. She was almost unconscious, and all she was Ok, this definitely got my attention. Now I was more than interested
capable of was giving driver directions. Next thing she remembered in what he had to say. The topic of the occasion was How to change
was waking up in the morning with trash all around her. She was in your mindset. You might expect a fancy quote as an opening, yet Mr.
the middle of the city dump and her pants were ripped off. In-fact, girl Woody took a different route. He used his bottle of water as a prop.
has not reported the incident to the police or her university in order Total Genius. I would never have seen that coming. He challenged
to “preserve her image.” small groups of girls. One or two bodies are easy enough to handle for a In addition, with the increase of violence in computer games and the whole hall to think about simple everyday life activities that I am
man, especially if it comes to potential abuse. movies, the rate of aggression among generation Z has nearly dou- sure most of us gave little thought. Personally, I had not realized I

Since the end of 90’s, drug traffickers have peddled chemical sub- bled. A 300-page research paper by Russian Psychology Center of was doing a lot of things wrong until he pointed them out.
stances that can be added to a girl’s drink. Men will mostly aim for Another incident occurred caused by overdrinking – kidnapping. Two Youth observed teenagers for 7 years, and the results revealed 85% Another highlight of the workshop was that Mr Woody was very
of my friends were kidnapped in a half-conscious condition. They were of 7-11 grade students (12-17 years old) had committed crimes. interactive with the audience. I could tell from their eager faces that
threatened with knives and were forced to call their parents, trading pric- they wanted to be picked to answer questions. He gave out a sense
es for their bodies. Fortunately, police have caught half of the gang of 11 So the stage is set for violence and aggression to spread to the club of importance to us, to me. “This right now is your safe place. You
people, but the others are still on the run, searching for their next wealthy scene. Unfortunately, the main goal for many people who go for the decide what happens today, next week, at the end of the year and
victims. night lifestyle is still a sexual expression. Indeed sex is everywhere next year.” This hour-long workshop taught me that it is all a matter
—it’s in movies, advertising and even in cartoons. An exaggeration of how we set our minds to do things—our minds are our greatest
So if you are not lucky enough to be a Muay-thai boxer, then you can of expressed sexuality usually ends badly when people give in to al- partners but also our greatest critics. Procrastination often times
see that it best to go out with a large amount of friends who look out for cohol and decide to “let go.” kills our goals. So, I am very glad I did not procrastinate too long be-
each other. fore attending this workshop. It was both entertaining and thought

Facts bear out that meeting a significant other in a club usually provoking.
Seriously, though, victims don’t necessarily have to be rich or pretty. doesn’t last. 70% of couples who met in club don’t last longer than – By Miriam Chisanga
Just getting the unwanted attention from someone could change your life 3 years. Most failed relationships reveal consistencies in cheating,
view completely. Understand that in the case of alcohol poisoning, there which alone does not prove or disprove that club is a terrible place to
is no way to get sober in minutes. It won’t matter how much coffee or meet your future partner, but the odds are against you.
energy drinks the person will consume, a body is in a half conscious state
won’t react as clearly as it should. Unfortunately, lonely young students So wake up to the reality that clubbing and drinking should be done
are ‘sweetest’ victims to the law breakers. in moderation and have plenty of friends to help defuse threatening

situations before they get out of hand. Have fun but party “smart.”
Clubs not only create new lifestyle and safety dangers, but higher drink-
ing habits have resulted in increase of liver cancer amongst party mon-
ster countries such as US. We can assume many more will come in the – By Kateryna Shust
future.