By Jáedee S.K. Caines
“The winner of the 2007 Miss UVI Ambassadorial Competition is Sharifa Maloney!” the MC shouted, and nobody was more surprised than Sharifa herself. For many seasoned pageant contestants, winning the Miss UVI Ambassadorial Competition would have been an exciting time and another accomplishment, but for UVI Accounting student, Sharifa Maloney, it was the biggest highlight of her life because, according to her, it doesn’t fit into her personality and is not a reflection of anything she would normally do.
On the outside, Maloney looks like a simple, laid back, easy-going individual, but on the inside, she has the heart of an angel, and the passion of a civil rights activist. She wears two major hats at the University of the Virgin Islands: Miss UVI and President of the Student Government Association and she still manages to be a Golden Key honor student.
Her dedication the two major tasks at UVI is evident as she centers her life on two mottos: “Adjust to changing times but, hold to unchanging principles” and “Our life begins to end the day we remain silent about things that matter.”
A product of Belmont Village in Trinidad, and born to Donna Haynes and Hayden Maloney on April 17 1985, Maloney has always been involved in community life. She moved to Virgin Gorda in 2004 after completing her ‘A’ level courses in Trinidad. She did not allow the change to a new home on a different island to stunt her drive of being involved in the community, hence, she became the president of her church’s youth group. Also in Virgin Gorda, she worked as an office manager for Trinity Financial Services.
At 23, her future ambition is constantly changing. The one thing remains strong is her ultimate goal of getting into charity work for nonprofit organizations.
In addition to the two major hats she wears at UVI, Maloney is the student representative on the Business Grievance Committee, Vice President of the Golden Key Honor Society and a member of the Rotaract Club.
When asked “What makes you be a leader?” Maloney responded, “I have asked myself that question over and over again but that’s who I am and I can’t run from it.” Ironically, no other member of the Haynes-Maloney family has travelled the same journey as the vibrant queen and president. “I’m blazing my own trail,” she says, when she talks about her family.
Maloney, who is also very spiritual, says that God has been the conductor of her life. “My faith in God and the mere fact that he comes through for me every time gives me strength to persevere,” she says.
According to her, it takes a lot to make her angry. “Not in any boastful way, but I don’t really crumble. I sometimes get discouraged, but I don’t crumble,” she says. On the other hand, she dislikes injustice and finds it hurtful “seeing people be taken advantaged of” and “seeing people take advantage of their positions.”
Nursing senior Schenell Weekes, who has resided in the same residence hall as Maloney for almost two years, describes her [Maloney] as being friendly and easy to get along with,” and added that Maloney ‘seems to get along with everyone in the building.” While Maloney says that being an ambassador for UVI has forced her to “step out” of her comfort zone,” Weekes says that the Miss UVI title did not change the kind of person she [Maloney] is. “She’s the same. She didn’t change that much. She didn’t allow her reign to change the person she is and has been.”
As the time draws near when she will no longer be the reigning Miss UVI and SGA president, Maloney is making plans to earn her master’s degree at another university, gaining employment and starting her own family. Even as she prepares to make that big step she has a desire to make her family proud. “A lot of what I do is for my family - a family with many broken relationships and shattered dreams and goals.”
Former SGA president Rick Grant defines his role as being Maloney’s “unpaid personal assistant and friend.” As someone who has worked closely with Maloney, Grant believes she “is a well rounded young woman who is purposed on setting goals and meeting them.” While Maloney says that her reign has been a “rewarding experience” that challenged her in many ways, Grant underscores that by saying it [her reign] was “abundant with opportunities and challenges.
“She had the opportunity to redefine the premise of Miss UVI and she was also challenged to encourage others to embrace her new premise,” Grant said. While Maloney is thrilled that her leadership role exposed her to networking, she is more grateful for the “rewarding and dear friendships that come out of being a UVI ambassador.”
The UVI student body pays special attention to their queen and president and expects her to be an exemplary role model for them. “As SGA President, I think she’s doing a good job. If you ask her anything she’ll find out and get back to you. As Miss UVI, she carries herself with pride and dignity and she represents the university well,” said dorm mate Weekes.
One might think that Maloney’s two roles may often work against each other when she’s faced with representing the university versus being a voice for the students facing problems at UVI, but she [Maloney] has a different outlook on it. “In any institution you find yourself a part of, you’ll find things you don’t like, but part of being mature is recognizing the good, not necessarily ignoring the ills but focusing more on the good, because there’s good and bad wherever you go.”
As the Trinidadian-born, with a “simple clothing style” as she defines it, continues to make a name for herself, she makes others proud in the process.
“Holistically, I believe that Sharifa upheld the queen-like demeanor of Miss UVI. On the other hand, I think that she broke the stereotypical type of thinking that a queen is beauty and no brains,” said Grant.
She’s a sister to three, a daughter to two and a role model to many, she’s Sharifa Maloney, living by her two mottos “Adjust to changing times but, hold to unchanging principles” and “Our life begins to end the day we remain silent about things that matter.”
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Portrait of a Virgin Island Maroon - Joseph Hodge
Portrait of a Virgin Island Maroon- Joseph Hodge
By April Glasgow
At his studio, the cool sea breeze blows gently inside the wooden hut, he plays jazz and burns incense to create what he calls, “his element.” He drums as he speaks, his rhythm is a heartbeat- “just like art,” he says.
The Asante Art Studio is where Joseph Hodge, Joe for short, a native artist, finds his solace. He paints images and remnants of Virgin Islands culture, which is not at all surprising, considering that his position as an artist is historian.
Verna Penn Moll, another Virgin Islands historian and author wrote [about Hodge], “This mainly self-taught artist has been capturing much of the social and cultural history of the BVI on canvas for more than 35 years.” No, he wasn’t trained in any art school, or any other related institution. He says it was only natural that he became an artist.
“They ask me- where did you study? I say- in the bush,” Joe says with a smile, yet with a serious tone of voice. “That’s where the sciences are at, that’s where the priests are at, and that’s where the people like me are at.”
This ‘man of the bush’ was born in Tortola, raised in a full home of six siblings. His mother, who travelled to many Caribbean islands with Joe and the rest of the family, helped him to develop his appreciation for cultural diversity and strengthened his keen observation skills as well. His relationship with his grandmother, who was a bush doctor, was strong, and he maintains that all that she taught him still remains.
He went to school in Tortola, has lived on other Caribbean islands, including St. Maarten, Curacao and St. Thomas, where he spent much of his life; but now he’s back in the country of his birth.
He was always a fisherman, and attributes a lot of his knowledge to the older fishermen in the village with which he would venture out on the seas.
“I learned the science of man and God- about the stars and the moon amongst them,” Hodge says. At a young age he was exposed to bush medicine, local artisans and farmers who all contributed to his vast knowledge of culture. He was always a curious one. Joe recalls one day poking his nose into a jar his mother told him to leave alone. All he could remember is waking up and hurriedly putting the cover back onto the jar which contained smelling salts.
It was while working on Tortola, as a bartender after school, that Joe got an epiphany. It came to him in the form of the book, “Separate Reality” by Carlos Castaneda. Forgotten by some tourists he was tending to, it was the beautiful painting on the cover that caught his eye.
While on St. Thomas, he attended the University of the Virgin Islands for a few semesters, and only took classes he thought he would benefit from; namely, the arts, history and the sciences. He would try to read anything he could get his hands on about Africa, whether it was Nelson Mandela in South Africa or Queen Nanny of the Maroons in Jamaica. It was this close association that he felt to Africa that inspired the naming of his studio.
Joe established the Asante Art Studios on Tortola in the sixties. He sold his first painting for $25, “which was a lot of money back then,” he recalled.
“It’s keeping with the time- we never accept defeat,” says Joe about naming his studio. Who’s the we he speaks about? “The Asante organized revolts to sustain African culture. The name will never die.” Joe’s eyes are now bright and full, signaling the importance of his statement.
Not only does he associate himself with the Asante tribe in Africa, but he calls himself a maroon.
“I’m a maroon, I’ve escaped.” He certainly is not the follower type. He has sought out African history, culture and tradition, in a society that is not so forgiving to the likes of him. Yet, he lives and breathes this tradition every single day. He is who he wants to be, and has always been just that.
Influential persons in Joe’s life include Reuben Strawberry, Edward Wilmot Blyden, and Queen Nzinga. “The people that I really respect for defending their culture are the maroons of Jamaica and Suriname.” He mentions Queen Nanny, originally born in Ghana, as the leader of many slave revolts. “They resisted because they wanted freedom.” He has an extensive personal library, part of which he keeps in the studio; it’s part of the element.
One major achievement in Joe’s life is VIAFEST, the Virgin Islands Arts Festival. He, along with six other men established the festival because they saw a need for culture to be awakened. “We wanted to enlighten the community.”
In 1984, the festival, being the first of its kind started with a bang. Artists and performers from the BVI and USVI came out to display their work in arts, crafts and music. The event ran strong for three consecutive years, the last one happening in 1986.
What is art to this artist? “Art is not just another class, art is life.” Fellow cultural activist, Professor Gene Emanuel, expressed that his friend [Hodge] is certainly an “African artist who has contributed his art as a tool for resistance.”
“His arena,” said Emanuel, “although artistic, embodied the cultural forms and faces of resistance so that the beauty of the human struggle could be seen in its most beautiful forms.”
To some, he’s a peculiar man because he’s into that ‘African thing,’ as Joe puts it. “I wouldn’t like if I were anything else- It’s a pleasure being black.” He thinks that Black History is vital to our communities and would love to see some of the old tradition come back to the Virgin Islands, especially farming and bush medicine.
Joe’s paintings show the ‘bigger picture’ of old Virgin Islands customs; whether it be farming, fishing, dance, cockfighting, courtship, architecture, dress, food, even religion. One of his paintings, which he describes as “every woman” is a depiction of the Caribbean woman, beautiful and welcoming.
Joe speaks in narratives. He has a story for everything. Don’t look for a simple yes or no, he’s deep and he knows it. His answers to questions may leave an inquirer mystified. The highlights of his artistic career are his various types of knowledge; that of history, of understanding the society, and of understanding himself and being able to articulate that. He doesn’t give a list of awards, the selling of expensive paintings or other forms of recognition he has attained throughout the years. “My greatest accomplishment is my knowledge- all that I have acquired.”
Joe says that maintaining his persistence and not changing the course are what makes him stick out amongst other Virgin Islands’ artists.
What is Joe’s next move? Joe wants to be among the Akan people in West Africa, among the Njuka and Saramaka in Suriname- in an environment that is more conducive to his way of living, a natural way that is. It may not happen soon, but Joe’s the kind of man that goes with the flow, and satisfaction is found in the simple things of life. Joe has never married, but says, “I would love to, if I find a woman that thinks.” He hasn’t sold any million-dollar paintings, or lived in the lap of luxury and excess- and it’s all good.
“Getting up every day, painting, fishing, knowing that I’m alive, being conscious of who I am, talking to children and people about what’s going on- those are what make me tick, because they are a part of me.”
This artist can teach you about history, native culture, bush medicine, how to purge fish poison out of your body, even show you how to preserve food for a couple days without putting it in the fridge. Yet, at the end of the day, he is truly an artist.
“Art is the description that we leave behind, to let others know that we were here.” He paints as he speaks. “Art is our very heartbeat.”
By April Glasgow
At his studio, the cool sea breeze blows gently inside the wooden hut, he plays jazz and burns incense to create what he calls, “his element.” He drums as he speaks, his rhythm is a heartbeat- “just like art,” he says.
The Asante Art Studio is where Joseph Hodge, Joe for short, a native artist, finds his solace. He paints images and remnants of Virgin Islands culture, which is not at all surprising, considering that his position as an artist is historian.
Verna Penn Moll, another Virgin Islands historian and author wrote [about Hodge], “This mainly self-taught artist has been capturing much of the social and cultural history of the BVI on canvas for more than 35 years.” No, he wasn’t trained in any art school, or any other related institution. He says it was only natural that he became an artist.
“They ask me- where did you study? I say- in the bush,” Joe says with a smile, yet with a serious tone of voice. “That’s where the sciences are at, that’s where the priests are at, and that’s where the people like me are at.”
This ‘man of the bush’ was born in Tortola, raised in a full home of six siblings. His mother, who travelled to many Caribbean islands with Joe and the rest of the family, helped him to develop his appreciation for cultural diversity and strengthened his keen observation skills as well. His relationship with his grandmother, who was a bush doctor, was strong, and he maintains that all that she taught him still remains.
He went to school in Tortola, has lived on other Caribbean islands, including St. Maarten, Curacao and St. Thomas, where he spent much of his life; but now he’s back in the country of his birth.
He was always a fisherman, and attributes a lot of his knowledge to the older fishermen in the village with which he would venture out on the seas.
“I learned the science of man and God- about the stars and the moon amongst them,” Hodge says. At a young age he was exposed to bush medicine, local artisans and farmers who all contributed to his vast knowledge of culture. He was always a curious one. Joe recalls one day poking his nose into a jar his mother told him to leave alone. All he could remember is waking up and hurriedly putting the cover back onto the jar which contained smelling salts.
It was while working on Tortola, as a bartender after school, that Joe got an epiphany. It came to him in the form of the book, “Separate Reality” by Carlos Castaneda. Forgotten by some tourists he was tending to, it was the beautiful painting on the cover that caught his eye.
While on St. Thomas, he attended the University of the Virgin Islands for a few semesters, and only took classes he thought he would benefit from; namely, the arts, history and the sciences. He would try to read anything he could get his hands on about Africa, whether it was Nelson Mandela in South Africa or Queen Nanny of the Maroons in Jamaica. It was this close association that he felt to Africa that inspired the naming of his studio.
Joe established the Asante Art Studios on Tortola in the sixties. He sold his first painting for $25, “which was a lot of money back then,” he recalled.
“It’s keeping with the time- we never accept defeat,” says Joe about naming his studio. Who’s the we he speaks about? “The Asante organized revolts to sustain African culture. The name will never die.” Joe’s eyes are now bright and full, signaling the importance of his statement.
Not only does he associate himself with the Asante tribe in Africa, but he calls himself a maroon.
“I’m a maroon, I’ve escaped.” He certainly is not the follower type. He has sought out African history, culture and tradition, in a society that is not so forgiving to the likes of him. Yet, he lives and breathes this tradition every single day. He is who he wants to be, and has always been just that.
Influential persons in Joe’s life include Reuben Strawberry, Edward Wilmot Blyden, and Queen Nzinga. “The people that I really respect for defending their culture are the maroons of Jamaica and Suriname.” He mentions Queen Nanny, originally born in Ghana, as the leader of many slave revolts. “They resisted because they wanted freedom.” He has an extensive personal library, part of which he keeps in the studio; it’s part of the element.
One major achievement in Joe’s life is VIAFEST, the Virgin Islands Arts Festival. He, along with six other men established the festival because they saw a need for culture to be awakened. “We wanted to enlighten the community.”
In 1984, the festival, being the first of its kind started with a bang. Artists and performers from the BVI and USVI came out to display their work in arts, crafts and music. The event ran strong for three consecutive years, the last one happening in 1986.
What is art to this artist? “Art is not just another class, art is life.” Fellow cultural activist, Professor Gene Emanuel, expressed that his friend [Hodge] is certainly an “African artist who has contributed his art as a tool for resistance.”
“His arena,” said Emanuel, “although artistic, embodied the cultural forms and faces of resistance so that the beauty of the human struggle could be seen in its most beautiful forms.”
To some, he’s a peculiar man because he’s into that ‘African thing,’ as Joe puts it. “I wouldn’t like if I were anything else- It’s a pleasure being black.” He thinks that Black History is vital to our communities and would love to see some of the old tradition come back to the Virgin Islands, especially farming and bush medicine.
Joe’s paintings show the ‘bigger picture’ of old Virgin Islands customs; whether it be farming, fishing, dance, cockfighting, courtship, architecture, dress, food, even religion. One of his paintings, which he describes as “every woman” is a depiction of the Caribbean woman, beautiful and welcoming.
Joe speaks in narratives. He has a story for everything. Don’t look for a simple yes or no, he’s deep and he knows it. His answers to questions may leave an inquirer mystified. The highlights of his artistic career are his various types of knowledge; that of history, of understanding the society, and of understanding himself and being able to articulate that. He doesn’t give a list of awards, the selling of expensive paintings or other forms of recognition he has attained throughout the years. “My greatest accomplishment is my knowledge- all that I have acquired.”
Joe says that maintaining his persistence and not changing the course are what makes him stick out amongst other Virgin Islands’ artists.
What is Joe’s next move? Joe wants to be among the Akan people in West Africa, among the Njuka and Saramaka in Suriname- in an environment that is more conducive to his way of living, a natural way that is. It may not happen soon, but Joe’s the kind of man that goes with the flow, and satisfaction is found in the simple things of life. Joe has never married, but says, “I would love to, if I find a woman that thinks.” He hasn’t sold any million-dollar paintings, or lived in the lap of luxury and excess- and it’s all good.
“Getting up every day, painting, fishing, knowing that I’m alive, being conscious of who I am, talking to children and people about what’s going on- those are what make me tick, because they are a part of me.”
This artist can teach you about history, native culture, bush medicine, how to purge fish poison out of your body, even show you how to preserve food for a couple days without putting it in the fridge. Yet, at the end of the day, he is truly an artist.
“Art is the description that we leave behind, to let others know that we were here.” He paints as he speaks. “Art is our very heartbeat.”
Drinking Laws in the Virgin Islands; Fact or Fiction?
Drinking Laws in the Virgin Islands; Fact or Fiction?
By Jill A. Wagner
Feb. 23, 2009
When asked how he felt about the drinking laws in the Virgin Islands, St. Croix native Kurt Alexander, age 20, replied in a calm, nonchalant tone of voice, “What drinking laws?”
This seems to be the overall attitude concerning the alcohol regulations in the US Virgin Islands. A US territory with self proclaimed liberal drinking laws, the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix may all technically be American soil but one quickly realizes that island life is far removed from the strict laws of the mainland.
Statistically speaking, drunk driving kills. According to the Supreme Court collection of legal cases at Cornell Law University, every year, “approximately 15,000 fatal alcohol related crashes occur, accounting for roughly 40% of all fatal crashes.” The question here is which laws are best for keeping these numbers down. Do drinking laws actually do what they are supposed to do or do we need to focus our energies on other ways of keeping the public safe?
Exchange student Lauren Wingard reflected on this issue by saying that she “was very surprised to find that it was legal to drink and drive on St. Thomas. It was so different from back home in Raleigh [North Carolina]. I don’t think it’s a good idea. The laws don’t seem to have the public safety in mind.”
The United States federal government has had the public safety in mind these past 20 years. The US feds have made extreme attempts to crack down on the occurrence of alcohol related deaths and injuries. The drinking age in all 50 states was raised to 21 in the late seventies and new laws such as Open Container laws and Dram Shop/Social Host Liability laws began to be put into place throughout the US throughout the past 20 years. Both of which directly influence the allowance of drinking while driving and drinking heavily before driving.
Dram Shop/Social Host Liability laws have been one of the most extreme changes in the legal system by turning the blame on the server not the drinker. These kinds of laws make it possible for any bartender or other server to be blamed or held responsible for damages caused by the drinkers they serve, effectively putting the fear of God into every bartender and restaurant worker in the states.
And it doesn’t stop there. The federal government took extra steps to ensure that states complied with the new alcohol awareness. According to www.drunkdrivinglawyers.com, “in 1998 the federal government took steps to encourage states to enact open container laws by passing the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, which required states to enact open container laws by October 1, 2000 or lose a portion of their Federal-aid highway construction funds.” Today, only six US states have failed to form any open container laws. States such as Connecticut, Delaware and Virginia are among the six that refrained from enacting such laws. Surprisingly, however these states are not among the highest in alcohol related deaths. These six states hover around the 40% national average for alcohol related traffic deaths.
The stats, in all actuality, add up to reveal that the states with the strictest alcohol laws are those with the highest percentages of alcohol related traffic deaths sitting just over 50%. The top three highest are South Carolina, South Dakota, and D.C., and according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, all have administrative license suspension on the first DUI offense, increased penalties for high blood alcohol concentration, and repeat offender laws, among others.
With laws like these becoming the norm in the states, visitors to the islands are feeling the difference. Most simply look at the laid back laws as a reflection of the laid back lifestyle that takes precedence in much of the Virgin Islands, but others find it to be a severe form of negligence. Baltimore [Maryland] resident turned exchange student, Kia Cox, matter-of-factly pointed out that the drinking laws on the island of St. Thomas “suck because they pretty much advocate drinking and driving…You could kill somebody that way.”
The US Virgin Islands, as well as other US Island territories such as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, have extremely lenient alcohol laws that are relatively un-enforced by the local police force.
Virgin Islands University Professor Dr. Kimarie Engerman, native to St. Croix, stated that she has “never heard of a young person getting a DUI (driving under the influence). It seems I’ve only heard of maybe a few older people getting them.” When asked how she views the drinking laws in the Virgin Islands versus those in the US she tells that “it’s [drinking in the US] like it’s something that kids can’t wait to do because they are not allowed to for so long. It is a big to-do in the US.”
Though some of the locals, such as Dr. Engerman, are at ease with the drinking laws and levels of enforcement, they are quite adamant about their stance against drinking and driving. “I don’t agree with drinking and driving at all,” Says 36 year old Angela Mills, a student and native to St. Thomas, “they do it all the time though.” When asked who does the majority of the drinking and driving on the islands Ms. Mills goes on to point out that “the locals don’t view drinking as a big deal and don’t abuse it as much as those that visit the island.”
With tourism being the driving force of the island economy, those that visit the island add up to a large number: over two and a half million tourists flood the islands each year. The University of the Virgin Islands, with campuses on both St. Thomas and St. Croix, can add roughly 2500 students from all over the world.
With all these visitors experiencing the drastic change in drinking laws, abuse can run rampant. UVI student Beth Leonard, age 23, reflected while sipping her morning coffee that, upon coming here, she was “surprised at how little the locals were drinking and partying. It was the foreigners that were taking it to the extreme and pushing all the limits.”
She went on to say that she sees the drinking laws in the Virgin Islands to be “legitimate because people are going to drink no matter what. If you allow casual drinking, people will drink casually. The more you constrict the laws the more abused alcohol becomes.”
The laws, in this case, aren’t the problem. The problem the Virgin Islands, and other places like it, must face is the stream of foreign minds and bodies roaming their streets in search of a good time. On first glance the Virgin Islands can seem like a lawless paradise, a wild west with palm trees if you will, but the culture has a delicate balance. There will be alcohol abuse wherever there is alcohol.
The drinking laws of the islands give foreigners an inch and the foreigners in turn take a mile.
By Jill A. Wagner
Feb. 23, 2009
When asked how he felt about the drinking laws in the Virgin Islands, St. Croix native Kurt Alexander, age 20, replied in a calm, nonchalant tone of voice, “What drinking laws?”
This seems to be the overall attitude concerning the alcohol regulations in the US Virgin Islands. A US territory with self proclaimed liberal drinking laws, the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix may all technically be American soil but one quickly realizes that island life is far removed from the strict laws of the mainland.
Statistically speaking, drunk driving kills. According to the Supreme Court collection of legal cases at Cornell Law University, every year, “approximately 15,000 fatal alcohol related crashes occur, accounting for roughly 40% of all fatal crashes.” The question here is which laws are best for keeping these numbers down. Do drinking laws actually do what they are supposed to do or do we need to focus our energies on other ways of keeping the public safe?
Exchange student Lauren Wingard reflected on this issue by saying that she “was very surprised to find that it was legal to drink and drive on St. Thomas. It was so different from back home in Raleigh [North Carolina]. I don’t think it’s a good idea. The laws don’t seem to have the public safety in mind.”
The United States federal government has had the public safety in mind these past 20 years. The US feds have made extreme attempts to crack down on the occurrence of alcohol related deaths and injuries. The drinking age in all 50 states was raised to 21 in the late seventies and new laws such as Open Container laws and Dram Shop/Social Host Liability laws began to be put into place throughout the US throughout the past 20 years. Both of which directly influence the allowance of drinking while driving and drinking heavily before driving.
Dram Shop/Social Host Liability laws have been one of the most extreme changes in the legal system by turning the blame on the server not the drinker. These kinds of laws make it possible for any bartender or other server to be blamed or held responsible for damages caused by the drinkers they serve, effectively putting the fear of God into every bartender and restaurant worker in the states.
And it doesn’t stop there. The federal government took extra steps to ensure that states complied with the new alcohol awareness. According to www.drunkdrivinglawyers.com, “in 1998 the federal government took steps to encourage states to enact open container laws by passing the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, which required states to enact open container laws by October 1, 2000 or lose a portion of their Federal-aid highway construction funds.” Today, only six US states have failed to form any open container laws. States such as Connecticut, Delaware and Virginia are among the six that refrained from enacting such laws. Surprisingly, however these states are not among the highest in alcohol related deaths. These six states hover around the 40% national average for alcohol related traffic deaths.
The stats, in all actuality, add up to reveal that the states with the strictest alcohol laws are those with the highest percentages of alcohol related traffic deaths sitting just over 50%. The top three highest are South Carolina, South Dakota, and D.C., and according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, all have administrative license suspension on the first DUI offense, increased penalties for high blood alcohol concentration, and repeat offender laws, among others.
With laws like these becoming the norm in the states, visitors to the islands are feeling the difference. Most simply look at the laid back laws as a reflection of the laid back lifestyle that takes precedence in much of the Virgin Islands, but others find it to be a severe form of negligence. Baltimore [Maryland] resident turned exchange student, Kia Cox, matter-of-factly pointed out that the drinking laws on the island of St. Thomas “suck because they pretty much advocate drinking and driving…You could kill somebody that way.”
The US Virgin Islands, as well as other US Island territories such as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, have extremely lenient alcohol laws that are relatively un-enforced by the local police force.
Virgin Islands University Professor Dr. Kimarie Engerman, native to St. Croix, stated that she has “never heard of a young person getting a DUI (driving under the influence). It seems I’ve only heard of maybe a few older people getting them.” When asked how she views the drinking laws in the Virgin Islands versus those in the US she tells that “it’s [drinking in the US] like it’s something that kids can’t wait to do because they are not allowed to for so long. It is a big to-do in the US.”
Though some of the locals, such as Dr. Engerman, are at ease with the drinking laws and levels of enforcement, they are quite adamant about their stance against drinking and driving. “I don’t agree with drinking and driving at all,” Says 36 year old Angela Mills, a student and native to St. Thomas, “they do it all the time though.” When asked who does the majority of the drinking and driving on the islands Ms. Mills goes on to point out that “the locals don’t view drinking as a big deal and don’t abuse it as much as those that visit the island.”
With tourism being the driving force of the island economy, those that visit the island add up to a large number: over two and a half million tourists flood the islands each year. The University of the Virgin Islands, with campuses on both St. Thomas and St. Croix, can add roughly 2500 students from all over the world.
With all these visitors experiencing the drastic change in drinking laws, abuse can run rampant. UVI student Beth Leonard, age 23, reflected while sipping her morning coffee that, upon coming here, she was “surprised at how little the locals were drinking and partying. It was the foreigners that were taking it to the extreme and pushing all the limits.”
She went on to say that she sees the drinking laws in the Virgin Islands to be “legitimate because people are going to drink no matter what. If you allow casual drinking, people will drink casually. The more you constrict the laws the more abused alcohol becomes.”
The laws, in this case, aren’t the problem. The problem the Virgin Islands, and other places like it, must face is the stream of foreign minds and bodies roaming their streets in search of a good time. On first glance the Virgin Islands can seem like a lawless paradise, a wild west with palm trees if you will, but the culture has a delicate balance. There will be alcohol abuse wherever there is alcohol.
The drinking laws of the islands give foreigners an inch and the foreigners in turn take a mile.
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