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By Mark Ellis
August 2, 2004
The first course for thousands of new students at three Ohio colleges this fall will help them wise up about alcohol.
First-year students at Denison, Miami and Ohio universities will complete the AlcoholEdu online course before beginning their college careers on campus.
"At 18 or 19, we think we know everything," said Miami student Tommy Koopman. "They'll take this course and answer questions honestly and find out what they thought they knew isn't right.
"I think they'll be glad they took it."
Koopman, a 21-year-old senior from Cincinnati, is among a handful of Miami students who have taken the science-based course before working with other students as "peer-health educators" -- students who deliver health information in residence-hall programs.
Koopman said he is not a heavy drinker. He took home three beers from a 12-pack he bought early last school year.
The course can be tailored to each individual.
"No student will take the same, exact version," said Brandon Busteed, chief executive officer of Outside the Classroom, the Massachusetts-based company he founded four years ago to create and distribute AlcoholEdu.
The test is interactive, with video presentations, and allows students to choose among online narrators and follow a track based on gender and the amount of alcohol each student consumes, if any. The course, which takes a few hours to complete, covers physical and psychological dangers of alcohol.
The Ohio schools join about 350 U.S. colleges that look to the course to turn tables on the 23 percent of students who drink 68 percent of the booze. Research on drinking patterns is the program's cornerstone.
A common misconception among students is that everyone else is drinking, he said.
Busteed, 27, founded the company six months after he graduated from Duke University. As class president, he found it difficult to attract students to alcohol-free events.
"Alcohol plays such a huge role in social life, you kind of wonder if that's a good thing," he said.
Busteed asked national experts to develop the course, starting with physicians at Duke University Medical Center. Depending on a school's enrollment, the company charges from $5,000 to $45,000 for the service.
The key to its effectiveness is including the entire class, he said. Students arrive on campus with a common bond and information from the course becomes part of "natural dialogue."
Many experts believe overall alcohol consumption has been steady for about 20 years, Busteed said, but high-risk drinking has increased.
Jim Slager, Miami health-services director, said AlcoholEdu is "one attempt to address the issue . . . college presidents consistently say is the major problem on their campuses."
Ohio University decided this year to broaden its use of the online course to the entire first-year class, from a handful of students under alcohol discipline, said Terry Hogan, dean of students.
College officials are more aware that alcohol abuse extends beyond health and safety issues to academic failure, he said.
Uncertainty about alcohol has made many first-year students anxious, said Laurel Kennedy, Denison dean of first-year students.
"It can be hard to figure out what the norms are," she said.
Alcohol plays a role in "the majority of the problems students face at college," she said.
"We think about students using it themselves, but we forget about the collateral effects. Dealing with the kid down the hall who has had too much to drink affects your living space," she said. "We want to be very aggressive about this."
The three schools also offer advice during orientation sessions and residence-hall programs.
Other colleges, including Ohio State University, have a range of initiatives.
"We've chosen to focus a lot of efforts to the reduction of drinking among first-year students," said Connie Boehm, OSU director of student wellness.
Orientation videos and bulletin-board notices are followed by opportunities for first-year students to attend 75 lectures and "interactive workshops" during fall quarter. Evening, alcohol-free programs and events also are promoted.
The University of Cincinnati includes a 45-minute play acted by upperclassmen and seen by new students at summer orientation. Topics range from diversity issues to responsible sex to substance abuse.
Emanuel Werner, a 20-year-old junior from Blacklick, has a role this summer and helps guide new students through orientation.
"Our biggest message is making responsible choices," he said. "We want them to understand they can go to a party and they don't have to be drinking alcohol.
"We're telling them you will be asked if you want to drink, but if you ask for a Pepsi . . . they'll respect that choice."
Survey results
A survey of 5,143 college students who took the AlcoholEdu online course during the first semester of 2003 showed that drinking behavior improved afterward. Some survey results, showing college drinking behavior before the course, include:
- 58.1 percent drank alcohol and averaged 6.1 drinks weekly.
- 76.9 percent saw no need to change their pattern.
- 63 percent played drinking games.
- 41.7 percent experienced a hangover.
- 21.6 percent said they attended class with a hangover.
- 23.7 percent experienced blackouts.
- 8.3 percent said drinking led to a sexual one-night stand.
Source: Outside The Classroom
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