Wildcat Welcome Week 2010 included all the meet-and-greet rituals of orientations in years past, but without any of the usual alcohol-related hospital trips.
“In the past, we’ve almost always had alcohol transports during Wildcat Welcome, but this year we didn’t have any,” said Lisa Currie, director of Health Promotion and Wellness.
The decline in alcohol emergencies - four students were sent to the hospital during last year’s Wildcat Welcome Week and six were sent the year before – could be one of the first tangible results of the Red Watch Band program, an alcohol awareness program piloted at Stony Brook University by Suzanne Fields, mother of 19-year-old SESP freshman Matthew Sunshine, who died of alcohol poisoning in his dorm room June 2008.
Last spring, Northwestern joined more than 60 schools in implementing the program, which focuses on identifying symptoms of alcohol poisoning and knowing what actions to take in an emergency situation. The training began in April, with more than 330 Northwestern students and staff going through the first two-hour session.
Peer advisers were among the largest group of students to participate in the program.
“I don’t know if the peer advisers were a direct link to the reduced number of alcohol incidents, but they were definitely more educated this year,” said Elizabeth Daly, director of Orientation and Parent Programs and Wildcat Welcome Week organizer. “They were more confident about talking to the new students when they had questions or concerns about drinking.”
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 than they were before their training.
Weinberg junior and PA Carolyn Highland said the program presented different alcohol-related scenarios and had the trainees act out the appropriate protocol. She said she learned about what strategies to use in an alcohol-related situation.
“I feel more equipped to handle those kinds of challenges,” she said. “If someone needs to go to the hospital, that’s the most important thing.”
Daly said she decided to make the training required for all PAs because new students “are more likely to trust their peer advisers if they need help.”
Clearing up misinformation about alcohol and how to respond to alcohol-related situations was a goal of the Red Watch Band program, Currie said.
“They definitely touched on things I’d never heard before,” said second-time PA Sid Singh. “There are a lot of myths about drinking. Something I didn’t know was that food doesn’t absorb alcohol, it just delays the absorption.”
There are improvements that can be made to the program, Singh said, including training PAs at a time closer to the beginning of the school year and making the content more relevant to student life. But the Weinberg junior said the program is ultimately a positive addition to Wildcat Welcome training.
“For the investment that the students have to put in, just a few hours, it’s definitely a good thing to have us go through,” he said.
There are plans to expand the program to educate more students, including government members in residence halls, members of multicultural and Panhellenic fraternities and sororities, and athletes, Currie said. Administrators also plan to open the program to anyone who is interested.
Currie said she hopes this program will eventually change the way all students deal with alcohol.
“My hypothesis is that we’ll actually see changes in drinking patterns of those who have gone through the training,” she said.
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