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Recent drinking-related deaths in Minnesota, including one near Winona State University’s campus last year, have prompted universities such as WSU to offer the AlcoholEdu program, an optional online class for freshmen that teaches statistics about the kind of drinking common on a college campus.
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Nikki Woods, 19, of Madison, Wis., is one of 1,266 Winona State University freshmen who logged onto the AlcoholEdu program this summer before starting orientation for fall 2008 semester. Woods, a nursing student, decided to finish the AlcoholEdu program after scoring poorly on a preliminary quiz about binge-drinking.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
The program was developed by a Boston-based company, and WSU is paying $25,000 to provide the course this semester.
The no-credit two-part program offers incentives — chances to win WSU apparel, massage gift certificates and parking passes — to freshmen who complete the course.
WSU is implementing the program in part because of WSU sophomore Jenna Foellmi’s death in December from alcohol poisoning. But the university had been considering the course as early as last summer, said Connie Gores, WSU’s vice president of student life and development.
“When we lost a member of our community to alcohol related death, it reinforced the need to do this,” Gores said.
About 1,700 college students die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, according to a report by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. That’s about the same size of WSU’s incoming freshman class.
The program focuses on making healthy choices, whether students choose to drink or not. It’s not about dictating lifestyle choices to students, said Kelli McClintick, WSU’s health educator.
The program uses WSU-specific stats to show that heavy drinking isn’t as popular as some freshmen may suspect.
“Students probably come in thinking the majority of students drink,” McClintick. “It’s probably about half of that.”
Nearly 70 percent of the incoming class — 1,266 freshmen — are participating in the program, Gores said.
Nikki Woods, 19, of Madison, Wis., is one of those students.
She took a pledge of sobriety until 21 after making a bet with her grandfather — if she makes it, he’ll pay her $1,000.
“This week, we’ve talked a lot about drinking,” Woods said Wednesday, who cites the risks as one of the biggest reasons why she’s remaining sober.
WSU partners the AlcoholEdu program with extensive alcohol education programs during orientation this week, including “Beer, Booze and Books,” a presentation by Jim Matthews, the coordinator of heath education at Merrimack College. The presentation runs twice — at 9 and 10 a.m. — today in Somsen Auditorium.
The school will check in with AlcoholEdu program students later this semester to gauge their drinking habits.
“Winona State really wants to set a positive yet strong tone about how we’re going to deal with alcohol and high-risk drinking,” McClintick said. “It’s important (for freshmen) to take care of themselves. Freshmen can get into risky situations.”
