Northwestern has joined more than 60 schools in implementing training through Red Watch Band one year after a nationwide alcohol-awareness program was formed in memory of an NU freshman.

The program teaches students how to respond to alcohol-related medical emergencies and is operated through Stony Brook University in New York. Peer advisers started training through the program Thursday, and NU plans to expand the program next year to any interested student, said Lisa Currie, director of health promotion and wellness.

Stony Brook administrators started Red Watch Band in March 2009 as a response to the death of NU freshman Matthew Sunshine, whose mother, Suzanne Fields, is a doctor and professor at Stony Brook.

Sunshine, a SESP freshman, died of alcohol poisoning June 10, 2008, with a blood alcohol content of 0.396.

The program is offered to schools at no cost.

“We think it’s wonderful,” said Lara Hunter, Red Watch Band’s national coordinator. “The more schools that participate the better, and being that it was unfortunately the tragic death of Matthew that was the tipping point for the program, then it’s great to have (Northwestern) on board.”

Peer advisers will participate in the exercises as part of a series of required training sessions this spring. According to the Wildcat Welcome Web site, nine training sessions will be offered in April and May. The sessions will accommodate no more than 30 students at a time to facilitate small group interaction.

“Many people may not know just how to call 9-1-1 or what you really do to respond appropriately,” Currie said. “What I hope is that it increases students’ awareness of what a medical emergency actually is, so we’ll help them understand what’s really the best response.”

In addition to peer advisers and peer coordinators who will participate in the trainings this spring, two sessions will be offered to leadership and risk managers in the Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council member chapters, Currie said.

“Working with those leadership groups, there’s a structure we can work within,” she said. “They’re key people on campus. They’re student leaders.”

Peer advisers are not allowed to drink during Wildcat Welcome. Elizabeth Daly, director of orientation and parent programs, said Red Watch Band will offer her staff an opportunity to be “an effective resource.”

“We obviously are not encouraging people to go to parties with their freshmen,” Daly said.

The program has been very successful at Stony Brook, Hunter said. According to Red Watch Band surveys, 95 percent of students who participate in the program are more likely to call 9-1-1 for an intoxicated friend.

“The feedback has been extremely positive,” Hunter said. “We had a student call 9-1-1 for a student who had a very high blood alcohol content, and he said he called because of the Red Watch Band program. He knew what to do.”

The program also instructs students on their school’s policy regarding alcohol. At NU, the Responsible Action Protocol, introduced this school year, encourages students to call 9-1-1, stay with the impaired or injured person and be cooperative with officials. The policy does not exempt students from educational or judicial sanctions. The Red Watch Band program does not change that policy, and Stony Brook University has a similar policy to NU’s, Hunter said.

In the first training session Thursday, Red Watch Band trainer and Communcation junior Kelli Greenberg told future peer advisers what happened the night Sunshine, a friend of hers, died.

“I’m convinced that if a call was made, I’d be telling a different story right now,” she said.

Former McCormick student Alexander Krzyston was charged with providing alcohol to Sunshine and will be actively involved with the Red Watch Band program as part of his plea agreement with the state. He pleaded guilty March 8 to providing alcohol to underage persons, a class A misdemeanor.

The program’s training focuses on giving students information on determining how much someone has had to drink, but it also covers specifics, including signs and symptoms of alcohol overdose and how much alcohol a Solo cup holds.

Currie said the program’s goal is to help students look out for each other and understand what their responsibilities are.

“We’re going to seed the student body with people who have this knowledge,” Currie said.[email protected]