Steve Bellisari is no different than many of the students at Ohio State. He attends classes. He has finals. He parties.
Bellisari is not the only 21-year-old to overdo it in a bar on High Street, and he is not the only student on the OSU campus to get behind the wheel of a car after consuming an exorbitant amount of alcohol. His title is “student athlete,” and the only thing which differentiates himself from any other student driving drunk on campus is the word “athlete.”
If Bellisari weren’t a public figure, the problem of students drinking and driving on and around campus would not be looked at so closely now. If Bellisari were just another student, the media would not have scurried so fast to cover the “breaking news.” There are students driving drunk every Thursday night/Friday morning.
On Saturday, like many Buckeye fans after the game, I was discussing the whole Bellisari situation with my friend and her mom. My friend’s mom said, “Take a lesson from Steve Bellisari.”
She couldn’t be more right.
We should take a lesson from what happened to our quarterback in those early morning hours Friday – whether you are a fan of his or not. Bellisari, despite the publicity his DUI received, will have to include his arrest on every future job application. Bellisari will have to confess this lapse in judgment, his mistake to people for the rest of his life. He should face repercussions from the judicial review board and their interpretation of the Code of Student Conduct.
OSU students should take a lesson from Bellisari and think about what happened to him the next time they think about getting behind the wheel of a car and driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Despite their son’s run-in with the law, I’m sure the Bellisari family will be counting their blessings over Thanksgiving. Bellisari’s parents have to be relieved their son did not injure, maim or kill himself or anyone else Friday morning. Yet I am certain they must be worried about him.
A lot of people are saying Bellisari has a drinking problem, which would be a worry to any parent. If he does have a problem with alcohol, he needs the support of loved ones now more than ever.
Columbus has been his home away from home, and his teammates and coaches have been his friends and family away from home. He needs them. In my opinion, Jim Tressel is doing the right thing by keeping Bellisari on the team.
It doesn’t mean he needs to play against Michigan this Saturday, though. It’s up to Tressel and Andy Geiger to decide if Bellisari runs out on the field with his teammates Saturday or not. I’m not even sure if it’s a wise decision for Bellisari to suit up, no matter how far down he is on the depth chart.
As one of my friends put it, what could be worse for Bellisari or the school than hearing 110,000 voices chanting “DUI” in Michigan Stadium? That would be worse than any loss to Michigan and definitely more embarrassing.
Whether he likes it or not, Bellisari has become the poster child of driving while under the influence of alcohol. It certainly has been a learning experience, a life lesson of sorts, for him. It likewise should be for all students on this campus, too.
Monica Torline is a senior in journalism and a campus editor at The Lantern. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].
