DUI program set for Sept. 13 at Reitz Student Union

September 6, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla — Mark Sterner will present “DUI: A Powerful Lesson” at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Sept. 13 in the Reitz Student Union Grand Ballroom at the University of Florida.

His visit is free and open to the public. Sterner’s appearance is co-sponsored by ACCENT’s Speaker’s Bureau, First-Year Florida, Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council and Tau Kappa Epsilon. Doors will open 30 minutes before each show begins. A brief press conference will take place promptly at 6 p.m. in the back hallway of the Grand Ballroom, and proper credentials are required.

Sterner’s life changed drastically when three of his best friends and fraternity brothers were killed in a car crash during spring break. Sterner and his friends had taken a video camera along on their trip each night while they danced and caroused in local bars but designated a sober driver. However, on the final night, everyone had taken his turn, and no one stepped up. They decided that the least drunk among them would drive home. Sterner was at the wheel of the car, intoxicated. Sterner ended up with three felony manslaughter convictions and spent three years in a Florida prison.

Sterner’s presentation titled, “DUI: A Powerful Lesson,” will include 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. They are followed by still photos of the car after the crash.

For more information, call ACCENT at (352) 392-1665 ext. 306 or the information line ext. 411, visit the Web site http://www.sg.ufl.edu/accent/ or e-mail ACCENT at accent@sg.ufl.edu.