The best week ever

There are approximately nine bars located within walking distance of Georgia College & State University, but students and faculty there are doing their part in making sure the party stays safe.

National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week kicked off on the Georgia College & State University campus with a series of events that focus on the negative effects of alcohol abuse.

“The best way to communicate with college-age students is consistently and repeatedly,” said Dr. Bruce Harshbarger, dean of students.

The main event was Greek Convocation where national speaker Wendi Fox spoke Tuesday night in Russell Auditorium to approximately 400 students. Student athletes, along with other students, also attended the event.

Fox drew from her own experiences of being raised in an alcoholic home to communicate with young people and spread the message that alcohol ultimately leads to negative consequences. Fox comically described situations that were alcohol related.

According to Dr. Barbara Funke, director of Alcohol Awareness Week, the speaker was funded by a $500 NCAA speaker grant, a fund created from alcohol-related fines and a new $13,500 “Safe and Sound” grant awarded GC&SU to spend on various programs promoting awareness of issues that are potentially harmful for young adults.

Another feature of the “Safe and Sound” grant is the peer educators. This past weekend Funke and seven other GC&SU students attended a training session at Georgia Southwestern University. The group was trained through the international BACCHUS and GAMMA organization the educators are in the process of planning events to educate students on campus.

Currently the group is organizing a Myths and Facts program about alcohol consumption. The event is scheduled to take place before the end of the year.

“I really enjoyed the training this past weekend. I got to meet some new people, not only from Georgia College but from Mercer and Georgia Southwestern as well. It was definitely a fun experience,” said Julie Prieto, one of the participants.

Topics covered at the training session included: caring and helping within limits, listening skills, body language and non-verbal communication, role modeling and ethics, and others.

Prieto thinks the certification is a good idea.

” I think the certification is a wonderful opportunity to share with others,” she began, ” I love being able to talk to people and help them when they want my assistance. This certification will help me do that,” she concluded.

The 2000 Youth Fatal Crash and Alcohol Facts reports show that more 19-year-olds die in alcohol related car accidents than any other age per year. These accidents involve drivers with blood alcohol levels of .01 to .09.

The report also concluded that 17 to 22-year- olds make up the top six ages of people who are involved in fatal car crashes triggered by alcohol.

GC&SU has a strict code for use of alcohol on campus and at campus events. The sale of alcohol on campus or the distribution of it to minors is illegal and forbidden. Another important policy is that intoxication will not be accepted as an excuse for disorderly conduct on campus.

The most specific policies prohibit drinking games or activities contributing to alcoholic overindulgences.

Students who fail to abide by any of the policies in the student handbook regarding alcohol or drugs are subject to be referred to the university’s substance awareness and abuse program or if the problem is more serious, a professional alcohol or drug counseling. Additional actions may also be taken.

A complete list of the policies in the Student Handbook can be found online.

Dr. Harshbarger said alcohol abuse is a very real problem on every campus in the United States.

Students polled in a 2001 national survey at Brown University were asked why they chose to drink. The most common responses were to have a good time with friends, to celebrate, to relax and relieve tension, or because they like the taste.

The report said that alcohol is involved in 90% of all campus rapes nationwide.

“Over the past two years Public Safety has reported 156 alcohol-related incidents resulting in 146 arrests,” Harshbarger said. ” Alcohol Awareness Week is not the single answer to alcohol abuse, but it can be a part of one answer to get people to think, consider and reassess. Some people do the first time they are confronted with information; some the 10th time; some the 100th time. It is important to keep sending the message even if every recipient is not ready to respond that given week,” Harshbarger said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 22 2004. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry