Today marks the beginning of Ohio University's Alcohol Awareness Week. The Health Education and Wellness Department will present educational events in conjunction with other OU organizations, such as Promoting OU Wellness, Education and Responsibility (POWER); Bring Your Own Judgment (BYOJ); Phi Kappa Alpha and Interfraternity Council.
Terry Koons, the department's assistant director of substance abuse education, said the week's events will focus on two particular groups of students. Some events will target first-year students to help them make better choices about drinking, while other events will be directed toward educating off-campus students on the risks and responsibilities involved with hosting parties at their residences.
We hope they (students) will learn some of the ramifications of high-risk drinking
low-risk drinking and other choices he said.
Some students said they think having Alcohol Awareness Week at OU is a positive measure to educate students about drinking, but they said education about responsible drinking is more important than telling them not to drink at all.
They should inform students of the facts about what alcohol does to your body but they shouldn't just tell you 'don't drink'
OU freshman Jaclyn Schwieterman said.
Maureen Montgomery, an OU senior and resident assistant, also said education about responsible alcohol consumption is important. I think it's good because students do need to be aware of the consequences of their actions
but I think that treating alcohol as a demon is unhealthy
she said.
The campaign kicks off today with a display at the Howard Hall site that will showcase the 1,736 alcohol-related judicial cases that occurred on OU's campus last year.
Other events:
N Tuesday evening, POWER will host Beer
Booze or Busted: Bad Luck or Bad Decisions?
a discussion about alcohol consumption on campus at 7 in Ping Center.
N David Hellstrom, an alcohol educator from CAMPUSPEAK, will present The Truth and Lies About Campus Alcohol at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
N BYOJ will go door to door Thursday night in student neighborhoods to pass out free pizza and literature with tips on how to have a low-risk party and the legal liabilities involved in having parties.
N The week's events will conclude Friday night as The Front Room hosts After Hours, after Open Stage. Baker Center will be open until 3 a.m. and free food and drinks will be available to all students.
For more information about legal risks and responsibilities involved with hosting a party at your residence, visit www.ohiou.edu/healthwell/Resphosting.html.
For more information about alcohol abuse on college campuses, visit www.bacchusgamma.org.
Alcohol statistics at Ohio University 2002-2003
1,763 alcohol-related judiciary cases
2,588 total judiciary cases
Source: OU Judiciaries
In 1999, a survey of college students found:
22.2 percent drank on 10 or more occasions in the past 30 days
44.5 percent usually binge when drinking
29.3 percent were drunk three or more times in the past month
45.0 percent drink to get drunk
Source: Henry Wechsler et al, College Binge Drinking in the 1990s: A Continuing Problem
in the Journal of American College Health, March 2000.
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