Colleges take new tack on drinking

October 2, 2005
By Taryn Plumb

The three freshmen stood on a hill behind their Assumption College residence hall, smoking stogies, cracking jokes and talking about their weekend plans.

Given that they all were first-year students experiencing their first real stint of freedom, those plans touched upon how — and where — alcohol or beer might be acquired.

“It’s college. People are gonna get drunk,” said Brian Fitzgerald, an Assumption freshman from Illinois, between puffs of his cigar. “We have strict policies here that might discourage some from drinking, but students who want to drink are gonna drink.”

College administrators, it seems, have become hip to that fact, and have implemented alcohol education programs that focus on minimizing the negative effects of drinking rather than ordering students to completely swear off the demon spirits.

Such is the case with the online prevention program Alcoholedu, which many area colleges have made mandatory for their first-year students.

“Our concept is not, ‘do not drink,’ but ‘make good choices,’ ” said Greg Snoddy, associate dean of students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. “It’s all about getting students to think about repercussions.”

The program, created by the Boston company Outside the Classroom, is low-impact, interactive and integrates three surveys, an audio presentation and tests.

With the exception of Worcester State and WPI — which both implemented the program this year — it’s been in use on Worcester campuses for two years.

Most set deadlines for students’ completion, and two even threaten consequences for non-compliance.

At Assumption, for instance, the Student Government Association voted to slap non-complying students with a $300 fine. College administrators, however, have tried to offset the need for that by offering prizes such as T-shirts and gift certificates.

At Clark University, the repercussions are less severe: non-complying students will be required to do additional work, such as papers reflecting on the importance of alcohol education, according to Jason Zelesky, Clark’s assistant dean of students.

Consequences or no consequences, though, administrators have noticed an improvement in students’ awareness of the dangers of alcohol.

Frances Taylor, Holy Cross’ director of wellness programming, said that in last year’s pre-survey, 51 percent of students reported worries about the consequences of drinking. After completion of the program, the number rose to 67 percent.

“There are many negative consequences of high-risk drinking,” she said. “Community-wide, they include vandalism, fights and physical assault. And on a personal level, it’s a health risk. Students are beginning to realize that.”

Kaine Thompson, director of public affairs and marketing at WSC, agreed.

“We have found that those that complete the course have less blackouts and do less binge drinking,” she said.

Students required to take the online course report mixed feelings. Some recognize the value; others see it as just plain silly.

“If it wasn’t mandatory, I wouldn’t do it,” said Assumption freshman Ricky Carchedi, wearing a yellow Captain Morgan T-shirt. “There’s no information on there that I would ever use.”

Chrissy Losapio, an Assumption freshman from Worcester, disagreed.

She said she found the program informative, especially a segment that taught her how to gauge her alcohol limit based on body weight and the number of drinks she’s had.

Sarah Bolthrunis of Nahant didn’t exactly sing praises, but said she was more inclined to log on because the program doesn’t push alcohol abstinence.

“It doesn’t promote not drinking,” she said as she popped Mike and Ike’s candy with fellow freshman Tara Dragoon. “It assumes that you have the responsibility to make your own decisions.”

Nearly everyone, however, was in agreement on one thing: It’s very time-consuming. The program, from start to finish, takes about two-and-a-half hours.

Assumption freshman Matt Archambault of Narraganset, R.I., who smoked cigars with Mr. Fitzgerald, summed up that frustration: “I’d rather pay the $300,” he said with a laugh.

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