New section added to AlcoholEdu: Sexual assault training module added this year

8/25/2009

The Daily Eastern News

By Sarah Jean Bresnahan

More than 95 percent of freshmen and 90 percent of transfer students completed the first stage of the AlcoholEdu program before the Monday deadline, said Eric Davidson, assistant director of Health Service.

Davidson said Eastern continues to use the program, now in its fourth year, because it exposes an entire population to the behaviors and consequences surrounding alcohol in a college environment.

"Is AlcoholEdu the magic bullet? No," Davidson said. "(But) statistically, we believe the program is working."

Davidson said opening weekends have seen fewer alcohol-related incidents since the program's implementation in the fall of 2006. He also said the number of alcohol violations in the residence halls has been cut in half.

The number of liquor law violations on campus decreased from five in 2006 to zero in 2007, according to the Annual Security Report released by the University Police Department in October 2008. The number of drug-related violations were also reduced from 14 in 2006 to six in 2007.

A new component to this year's AlcoholEdu program is a sexual assault education component.

Last summer, the state of Illinois passed a law requiring all universities and community colleges to provide sexual assault education to all new and incoming students. The university purchased the sexual assault module to fulfill this requirement.

Freshmen and transfer students needed to complete part one of the AlcoholEdu program before classes started Monday. If not completed, a hold is placed on students' records beginning Sept. 8. The deadline for part two of the program is Nov. 1, and an additional hold will be placed on accounts beginning Nov. 2.

The administrative hold bars students from adding classes to the spring 2010 schedule.

Davidson said approximately 400 to 500 colleges and universities in the United States use the AlcoholEdu program, including Loyola University. Western Illinois University and Illinois State University are considering the program, he said.

The funding for the program comes from a combination of sources - fines from alcohol policy violations, student fees for Health Service and a grant in the first two years of the program, Davidson said. The Office of Student Affairs also contributes funding for the program, he said.