A few of Paige Kauffman’s friends received an alarming Snapchat early Thursday morning.
The picture showed the 21-year-old journalism senior taking a Breathalyzer test administered by Gainesville Police officers. But Kauffman wasn’t in trouble. In fact, she took the test voluntarily as part of a GPD alcohol awareness campaign called “Operation ‘I only had two beers.’” Officers were stationed behind Gator City Sports Grille from 12:30 to 2 a.m.
“It was something done by the team that works that area to show people who think they are only intoxicated to a certain level that they might be way over the legal limit,” said GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias.
Of the 49 participants, 37 blew blood alcohol content levels greater than the legal limit of .08, Tobias wrote in an email.
Kauffman blew a .058 after drinking two and a half whiskey gingers at Gator City.
She said officers asked her age and whether she felt the effects of alcohol. They explained that blood alcohol content could rise in the 10 minutes it takes to walk from a bar to a vehicle.
“I think it’s really great what they’re doing,” she said. “The students really do need to understand before something horrible happens to them.”
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 8/23/2013 under the headline "Tests bust ‘I only had two beers’"
