The Office of Campus Life sponsored various events and activities this week to inform students about the dangers of alcohol in college as part of National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week.
The week of hands-on activities was designed to help students learn about staying safe and healthy, and ranged from root beer pong in the LA Quad to a documentary about Scott Krueger, a student at MIT who died from alcohol poisoning.
Another featured event was speaker George Trainor, a representative from Alcoholics Anonymous who spoke to students in the Leonard Chancery about the AA program and his experience with alcoholism.
"I felt like I didn't belong," he said, as he told students that he started using alcohol to blend in with his peers. "Somehow or another, it made me feel like I fit in."
Trainor became increasingly obsessed with the bar scene and found it affecting his personal life.
"I should have been fired. I should have been divorced," he said. "Alcohol took over my life."
After he was convicted of drunk driving, Trainor eventually started going to AA meetings and has since been sober for over 34 years. He urged students to get help if they needed it and answered students' questions about alcoholism.
There are also plans for various events throughout the rest of the week. To demonstrate the statistic that 180 people lose their lives every 12 hours due to an alcohol related death, 180 students will wear black shirts throughout the day.
The Office of Campus Life is also offering other activities such as Health Jeopardy and Late Breakfast in the Tavern on Thursday and will be serving "mocktails" on the quad from 2-4 p.m. on Friday.
Over 1,000 universities across the nation participate in the NCAAW program.
According to the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol statistics for 2004, binge drinking in college has remained more or less constant for the last 20 years, despite increased efforts by colleges to lessen alcoholism on campus.
Many students feel that Alcohol Awareness Week is not publicized enough. "I feel alcohol awareness week is ineffective," said Heather DeBlois, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. "I feel like people don't care ... I don't know anyone who's ever been to any of the activities."
Paul Jamain, president of Leonard Hall Residence Hall Association, helped organize some of the week's events. He said current efforts of Alcohol Awareness Week haven't really registered with students, and that "trying to create more of a personal connection between students" could improve the week.
