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By Brea Jones
August 4, 2005
Along with math, English and science, Chico State University freshmen will be studying alcohol this fall.
All freshmen will be required to take "AlcoholEdu for College," a 2.5 hours online course to educate students about the impact and dangers of alcohol.
Director of Admissions John Swiney said parents and families want colleges to step up to the plate in educating students about alcohol.
"I think this will be a positive antidote to some of the stereotypes that people hold about Chico State and also an antidote to the negative press that we've received in the past six months."
This is one of many programs the university plans to roll out this year to curb alcohol abuse, Swiney said.
Shauna Quinn, director of the Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center that will head up the AlcoholEdu program, said first-semester students who do not pass the class won't be able to register for spring semester classes.
Chico State students who violate the campus alcohol policy have been using a version of AlcoholEdu for the past three years.
The course has five parts: biology of alcohol, how it affects the brain, emotions, health and the legal ramifications. Quinn said first-semester students are the best audience because CADEC studies show freshmen drink more than juniors and seniors at Chico State.
It includes video of a drunken woman at a party about to go off with a guy, and asks, "What would you do?"
"It's real situations that college students will be involved in, where they can make their own decisions," Quinn said.
Joe Wills, director of public affairs and publications, said first year students are likely to experiment more than older students.
"A high number of our students are away from home for the first time on their own," he said.
Other colleges have found this course effective, Wills said. About 350 universities and colleges use the program and 110 of them make it mandatory.
Each student will be required to take three alcohol surveys and must pass the tests with 70 percent or above. The information collected, except the score, is anonymous and will go back to the university as data, Wills said.
The university will spend $60,000 to use the Outside the Classroom program for three years.
Students can begin taking the class Tuesday and must have the first phase done Sept. 9.
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