After weeks of planning, around 300 students attended the alcohol awareness event in the Wise Campus Center Mill on Oct. 14, according to Gail Mears, director of substance abuse education and prevention.
“At the event on Thursday, we had around 310 students come through the Mill,” said Mears, adding, “When we asked the employees down there, they said the Mill was packed from when we setup, all the way to closing.”
The Alcohol Awareness event is held every fall and spring semester in an effort to educate students on the dangers of drinking and alcoholism, according to Mears.
“We want to give the students a relaxed environment,” Mears said. “It’s a good way for them to get to know us, and with that familiarity they can approach us and ask us questions about things that they really don’t know anything about.”
At the event, a variety of prizes were handed out, and the students participated in different hands-on activities. Keeping the students interested was the focus of the event, according to Mears.
“We give out tons of free stuff,” Mears said. “I want them to have a good time, to kick back, relax, and to remember the stuff we tell them.”
Ensuring the students retain the information is one of the main goals of events like these, according to Mears.
“It’s hard to consistently get information out to students in a way that they pay attention,” Mears said.
“This information requires a certain amount of repetition to get it into the students’ heads, because they’ve got a lot going on,” Mears said. “I don’t think we’ve achieved the level of repetition needed.”
“The event was an informal event,” said Elizabeth Dill, medical assistant for Norwich University Health Services. “We wanted it setup so that if people were walking by, they would see it and join in.”
“We wanted them to come in, get some free food and hang out and talk and play some STD twister,” Dill said. “It’s not just us throwing up a PowerPoint presentation, it’s about talking with people and having them ask questions and feeling more at ease.”
Getting more students to come to these events is a major objective for the event coordinators.
“We’ve looked into what students look at here on campus, and stuff like the table tents in the mess hall, or the flyers on bathroom stalls, really get the students’ attention,” Mears said.
Spreading the information about these events is the main challenge for the staff and faculty.
“I’ve had students out there putting flyers underneath peoples’ doors to try and get the word out,” Mears said. “We’re doing a lot more word-of-mouth stuff in the future.”
Mears has used a large portion of her budget to let students know about these events, with less than desirable results.
“I’ve paid a lot of money for paper campaigns that have had little to no yield, but the word-of-mouth stuff really gets around,” Mears said.
The event was organized to provide students information on alcohol abuse and sexually transmitted infections.
“[Sexually transmitted infections] are at the top of the list for student education,” Dill said. “They’re very prevalent and people don’t know that much about them.”
According to Carla Asaro, registered nurse for Norwich University Health Services, “by the time the students get to college, they’re sexually active but they don’t know too much about what that really means.”
One of the games offered for participation at the event was a modified form of Twister, with sexually transmitted infections as part of the playing pad.
“Seeing the STI has more of an impact,” said Asaro. “We can sit around and talk about [sexually transmitted infections], but if you see the body part with the STI on it, you’ll get a more profound impact.”
“Some students were playing the [STI] Twister game and didn’t want to touch the body part,” Asaro said.
Getting students to realize the impact alcohol abuse and sexually transmitted infections have on the body was another goal of the event’s planners.
“The STI twister had pictures on it of what the infections look like, and some of the students joked that they would never have sex again,” Dill said.
There was also a STI jeopardy game.
Organizing the event was Gail Mears and Deb O’Hara, the physician’s assistant for Norwich University Health Services.
“I started talking with Gail Mears a few weeks ago,” said O’Hara. “I’ve been talking with Gail, seeing when the events are, what they’re all about, and coordinating between her office and ours.”
O’Hara said, “Anytime there’s free food, and throw in a free gift, people start showing up to the events.”
According to senior studies in war and peace major Nick Hattaway, 21, of Nashville, N.C., “Using the prizes and the food are a good incentive to get people to come down and be more involved and learn some useful things.”
“It’s good for the school to have events like that, so if you’re curious you can come down and get some free stuff,” Hattaway said.
According to Hattaway, not all Norwich students are aware of the problems of alcohol abuse and sexually transmitted infections.
“People have a basic understanding of what alcohol does, but not specifically what it does long-term to the body,” he said. “You look out for your friends, but some people don’t look out for themselves.”
Staff members working with Mears and O’Hara have begun collaborating for future events on campus, according to O’Hara.
“There is a wellness fair coming up in November, and we’re still working on coordinating with all the groups we want to bring out to that event,” O’Hara said. “We’ve been talking with Gail, seeing when the events are, what they’re all about, and coordinating between her office and ours.”
Increasing communication between departments is a goal for both offices in the future.
“We hope we keep getting invited to these functions, and we’re on board with Gail Mears and her office, and our next step is to coordinate with the nursing department for more events,” Asaro said.
According to Asaro, “nobody really collaborated with us until last year, when we were contacted by Gail Mears to come to the alcohol awareness event held in the spring.”
“To setup, people come by at the last minute and ask if we need food or help or anything,” Mears said. “[Campus Activities Board], some of the resident advisors and the infirmary have all helped us out in the past with these events.”
Informing the students on health and wellness is the main concern for both the infirmary and Mears.
Another push was to get students to agree to give up alcohol for three months.
“At the event, we signed up 38 people who are going to try to stay sober for 90 days, for the long haul,” Mears said. “It’s all on the website, www.livemoredrinkless.vt.com.”
“We’re trying to branch out to Facebook, and have students write blogs about what it’s like trying to give up alcohol on this campus,” Mears said.
“We have pamphlets and are available if students have any questions or concerns about alcoholism or alcohol abuse,” Asaro said. “Students say they love these events, and the feedback we’ve gotten has been very positive.”
Improving student relations with both offices is a main priority for the staff and faculty involved in planning and organizing the events, according to O’Hara.
“[The event] leaves everyone with a more positive feeling with the work we do, and it builds a more positive relationship between us and the student body,” O’Hara said.