The University has implemented a mandatory web-based alcohol education program for all freshmen in an attempt to increase awareness of the dangers of drinking irresponsibly.
An online alcohol class couldn’t actually make a difference in how students act at parties—could it?
“It had no influence on my life or my actions,” said Melissa Barr, one of the more than 1,600 freshmen required to soak in two and a half hours worth of AlcoholEdu over the past two months.
Greater student awareness toward alcohol, however, is exactly what the University administration was hoping for when it implemented the step-by-step animated tutorial last year. The November 1999 death of junior Raheem Bath from alcohol-related causes led to an increased push for alcohol awareness programs, with this latest high-tech effort coming as the brainchild of Brandon Busteed, Trinity ’99.
After his increasing frustration with lackluster attendance at dry activities he organized as president of his freshman class, Busteed realized the prevalence of alcohol on campus and went on to create a “a non-opinionated, science-based program that students wouldn’t necessarily love but at least appreciate,” he said.
A task force dubbed Never Underestimate the Power of Alcohol on Campus chose from among several web-based programs in implementing AlcoholEdu for this year’s entire freshman class. NUPAC, which is composed of members of various student affairs-related organizations within the University, has met primarily to “exchange information and strategize about reducing high-risk drinking among our students,” said Stephen Bryan, NUPAC coordinator and interim associate dean for judicial affairs.
Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said that AlcoholEdu will be valuable for this freshman class, despite the fact that she has received relatively little student feedback on the program aside from complaints about logging in or confirmation of students’ completion of the program.
“Any administrator will tell you it’s a problem. First-year students tend to have a bit more of a problem,” she said of drinking on campus. “Even if this helps one first-year student avoid an incident [or] crisis related to alcohol, then frankly it’s been worth it.”
AlcoholEdu is a six-part interactive program involving five chapter-long lessons and a final exam that students must pass at a rate of at least 70 percent in order to successfully complete the program. It provides all students with the same basic information but changes to provide pertinent information to individuals based on their gender, alcohol consumption level and other variables—from creating character scenarios to testing one’s potential blood-alcohol level. The course, which can be completed in multiple sittings, takes about two and a half hours to complete.
The administration originally implemented AlcoholEdu last year for students charged with alcohol violations and this year decided to extend the program to all freshmen with the goal of evaluating its effectiveness on a larger population.
“I think this first year will be a test to see if there’s any effect,” Bryan said. “Will we see a meaningful difference in a host of variables, like number of visits to the emergency room, like property damage in the residence halls due to alcohol consumption?”
Bryan added that the program offers much of the same information that many students could have learned in high school, but is modified in a way that “arms students with knowledge” for the college setting. “It’s not meant to be like the D.A.R.E. campaign—a “Just Say No” approach,” Bryan said of the national anti-drug movement. “We don’t expect students to abstain from alcohol; rather we would like for them to make healthier choices about the amount they’re consuming and the situations they’re placing themselves in.”
Not all freshmen, however, found the program educational or influential. “It was just kind of boring,” freshman Nick Downs said. “It was like three hours long. It was rather monotonous... and I think for most students it just kind of went over their heads. They didn’t really care, they just did it just because they had to. Most people are going to drink either way.”
Some of Downs’ classmates, however, found their trip to alcoholedu.com more valuable. “It puts everybody on the same level,” freshman Joanna Hayes said. “You’re confident that everyone around you knows what to do [in case of an accident].”
Freshman Kelsey Kingsbery also said the program might be useful for her classmates. “I think there’s a lot of freshmen that probably didn’t know very much at all about alcohol or what it would be like on a college campus,” she said. “So I think for some people it’s probably a really good idea.”
So far 1,264 freshmen have completed the program, and 259 are in the process of doing so. Students who have not completed AlcoholEdu will be reminded to log on and close out their tabs in the next few weeks.
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