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October 26, 2005
By Ashley Bishop
Since the
beginning of September the Assumption College administration has been
encouraging the class of 2009 to "Get It Done." This slogan has been
in reference to the newly required, on-line alcohol education program that the
freshmen class has been participating in.
AlcoholEdu
for College is a program that was implemented last year but is now required for
all freshmen students. Students who fail to complete the online education
program are subject to a $300 fine, something that was actually implemented by
the Student Government Association to stress the importance of alcohol
education on campus.
The
program, which has been utilized by more that 450 colleges around the United States, aims to educate students about the harmful effects of alcohol. The program
does not try to encourage students to abstain from alcohol completely, but
rather informs students about the effects of poor decision-making when it comes
to drinking.
Dean of
Campus Life Nancy Crimmin, who has been heading the program this year, hopes
that educating students about the effects of alcohol will lead to a more
informed student population.
" It's
about learning how to keep yourself safe and your friends safe more than
anything else," Crimmin explained.
The program
has an excellent reputation, and the impressive statistics were what
encouraged the
Assumption Administration to bring the $ 12, 000.00 program to the campus. The
information collected in post-program surveys last fall showed that students
found the program to be effective as well.
Crimmin
noted that last year "Assumption had very positive student feedback. 78
percent of students last year said that what they knew about alcohol was
increased by the program."
The
program, which takes approximately two and a half hours to complete, takes the
student through a series of surveys with coinciding information on a wide range
of topics pertaining to alcohol. The program explains the harmful effects of
drinking and also gives helpful tips to students about how to stay safe if they
chose to drink.
Parents of
the freshmen this year also had the opportunity to try the online program that
their sons and daughters would be partaking in.
" 122
parents participated in the program over the summer," said Crimmin.
"They were able to get an idea of what the program was all about even
before their kids began school."
Although
there was an initial concern about the $300 fine and the time constraints of
the program, Crimmin says that so far there has not been any negative response
by the freshmen class.
"It is
wonderful how the freshmen have responded," said Crimmin.
"Understandably there was the initial concern about the amount of time the
program would take, but the overwhelming majority of the class of 2009
completed the first phase of the program without any problems."
Only four
members of the freshmen class failed to complete phase one of the program.
These four students will be fined the $300, but will still be required to
complete the program.
"We
don't want the money," Crimmin explained. "We want the students to
get the information."
The freshmen
class is now in the process of completing phase two of the program, which is
simply a survey about the effectiveness of the program. The survey, which must
be completed by November 21st, will give the Assumption Administration an idea
of what the students are actually gaining from participating the in program.
Although Crimmin sites that the benefits of the program are not necessarily
something that can be measured on paper.
" In a
perfect world, the program would cause a decrease in documentations and alcohol
related transports to the hospital, " explained Crimmin.
"Administrators may never see direct results from the program, but our
expectations are that students will challenge each other and look out for one
another because of the knowledge they gained from the program."
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