AlcoholEdu course continues to educate, inform

8/27/2009

The Daily Toreador

By Hannah Boen

Because alcohol and college often go hand-in-hand, Student Health Services is doing its best to encourage safety and responsibility among first-year freshmen.

Since 2006, first-year freshmen have been required by Texas Tech to complete an alcohol education program, and this year, changes to the program have made it more insightful than ever, said Amanda Eldredge, a health educator for Student Health Services.

"We know this is benefiting students," she said, "when I have people coming to me three years after taking the course and saying they still remember the information."

AlcoholEdu is a two-part program aiming to provide education and resources to students regarding alcohol use.

The program includes information regarding legal ramifications of drinking and resources for students who choose to consume alcohol, as well as opportunities to blog about their thoughts.

"The course is 100 percent confidential and plays a big role in what students know about drinking behaviors," Eldredge said.

Last year's program results showed 55 percent of first year freshmen who took the course chose not to drink, a statistic she said she is proud of.

"We're actually above the national average," she said. "Our students show more responsibility regarding alcohol than those who take this course at other universities."

Besides educating students, the program has other benefits, she said. Individuals who did not take the required course are turned into Student Judicial Programs and may face different sanctions if they break laws regarding alcohol consumption.

The two-and-a-half-hour course can be daunting to some students, Eldredge said. However, Bobby Holden, a freshman psychology major from Richmond, said it is worth the time.

"I don't drink," he said, "but it's all useful information."

Because his mom is a police officer, he said he already understands the legal ramifications of drinking but found other information useful.

"I have gotten an understanding of how often other college students drink," he said, "and how much alcohol is actually in each drink."

The course also gave him a variety of resources regarding alcohol consumption, he said, that he may not have known about otherwise.

The Raider Assistance Program, for example, is an educational resource for students with questions concerning drug, tobacco and alcohol use. Former Raider Assistance Program Manager Bobbi Britton-Stroud said the program is not something all students will use, but it is good for all students to know about.

"We have students on campus with a whole range," she said of alcohol consumption. "Just like on any college campus some students are very responsible, some are not."

Although some students are irresponsible when it comes to alcohol use, Tech students have more resources than most other universities, she said.

"Because of the course and other resources provided," she said, "we are ahead. Those who want to be responsible have a chance to learn what it looks like."

Eldredge said she hopes individuals who have outdated knowledge of alcohol use will take advantage of the Alcohol Edu course.

To get more information about the course or other alcohol resources on campus, visit alcoholedu.ttu.edu.