‘Choose’ promotes alcohol awareness around campus
National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week was held Oct. 17 through 19 in an effort to educate students about safe choices when consuming alcoholic beverages.
GC&SU, in association with the Alcohol Taskforce, Student Affairs, Peers Advocating Wellness Successfully, Counseling Services, University Impact and the GIVE Center, organized and hosted the week’s events.
This year’s theme was “Choose!” The theme emphasized safe and smart decision making, such as avoiding binge drinking, knowing your limits, not driving while intoxicated and not riding with an intoxicated driver.
Barbara Funke, NCAAW coordinator at GC&SU, is pleased to be working with so many organizations. She hopes that the passive approach of the “Choose!” program will shed light on alcohol abuse.
“These are adults we’re talking to,” Funke said. “They’re in college, so of course there will be several people that will drink. We’re not going to prohibit it because many students will still do it. We do, however, want to encourage students to make conscious decisions and take care of themselves and to look out for each other.”
NCAAW programs included “Seize the Keys,” an impairment goggles activity and question/reaction boxes that were situated all over campus. In addition, there were several informative signs around campus that featured facts about the effects of alcohol abuse.
While it is unlikely that students will stop drinking after NCAAW, the program intends to dispel myths about alcohol abuse and share students’ experiences with alcohol.
Karen Farmer, a psychology major, admits that she drinks.
“I do it as a social thing, not because I’m addicted to it,” Farmer said. “It helps me be more relaxed and outgoing. But it is scary when you get drunk. If any student find themselves in that situation, then they should just drink around people they are comfortable with and trust.”
Faith Owens, a graduate student in education, and Rachel LeClair, a psychology major, are the co-coordinators of Project Impact. Project Impact made the question/reaction boxes found around campus. Both women choose not to drink.
“I choose not to drink because I don’t like the consequences that come with being drunk,” Owens said. “But since people drink anyway, we hope that this program will help them make better choices so that when they do drink, they will know how to react and take action if necessary”
LeClair agreed with Owens’ sentiments.
“I don’t drink because it ruins my testimony as a Christian, and I really don’t feel the need to get drunk just to have fun. It isn’t for me,” LeClair said.
This program is held every year to show college students how dangerous it is to abuse alcohol. The Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention Studies conducted studies based on more than 1,000 colleges. The studies suggest that in 2004 alone, 1,400 college students died from alcohol-related incidents, including motor vehicle accidents. There were a reported 500,000 cases of unintentional injuries, 70,000 sexual assault and date rape cases and 600,000 assault charges. All were alcohol-related.
In addition, alcohol abuse poses serious health problems, including liver failure and blood poisoning that can lead to death.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 21 2005. Filed under News.
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