Mocktail winners Alpha Omicron Pi and Pi Kappa Alpha used the movie “Elf” for their booth theme. 
Taja Morgan/The Lion's Roar

The purpose of the evening was not to discourage drinking, but to discourage alcohol and substance abuse as a coping mechanism. 

Lights! Camera! Mocktails! took place on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom and concluded in Strawberry Stadium Parking Garage. The night started out with a speech from motivational speaker Ross Szabo.

“This presentation tonight is not to stand up here and tell you not to drink and do those things, but why people are doing it,” said Szabo.

Szabo explained that mental health is not having an actual problem, but rather the way you address the complications that arise in your life.

“Your mental health is as important as your physical health,” said Szabo. “To take care of your mental health you have to think about how you cope and how you take care of your mind.”

Laughter emanated from the crowd as Szabo explained how college students tend to get less than five hours of sleep a night. 

Szabo explained what mental health and mental disorders were by going into detail about his personal back story and how his battle with mental disorders led to a very dangerous alcohol and substance abuse problem.

“I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 16, and I heavily abused alcohol from 16 to about 22,” said Szabo. “I was in and out of psychiatric wards and hospitals until I found how to balance it.”

Szabo believed that as students go through elementary and middle school, they are constantly being told what is wrong with them, but never given any advice on what to do about it.

“The statistics around this issue are pretty overwhelming,” said Szabo. “25 percent of college students experience the diagnosis of a mental health disorder each year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death on college campuses.”

As the mood in the room became serious, Szabo continued to share his opinions on those statistics. 

“The statistic that bothered me the most and is why I started speaking, is that 66 percent of college students don’t seek help for their mental health,” said Szabo.

As Szabo began to wrap up his speech, he offered students advice on how to cope and manage their mental health. He explained that talking to someone about your problems and issues are healthy and that getting enough sleep each night can also help with coping mechanisms. 

Following Szabo’s presentation, attendees headed towards the Strawberry Stadium Parking Garage for the Mocktails portion of the event.

Different sororities, fraternities and clubs joined together and attempted to create the best “Mocktail,” a non-alcoholic drink that was to be judged.

Every booth had a different theme, and the members of each group dressed to fit their theme.

“It was so cool to see all the different costumes,” said Lindsey Watkins, a freshman English major. “My favorite had to have been the ‘Lilo and Stitch’ booth. They were all dressed so cute.”

As the night began to wrap up, voting for the best drink and the best overall booth came to an end. 

The overall 1st place and best overall booth was awarded to Alpha Omicron Pi and Pi Kappa Alpha. The best overall drink was awarded to the Black Student Union.