FEATURES
Students take steps to help limit alcohol abuse
MCC’s Peervention program is fighting alcohol abuse, a drug problem that results in the death of more than 1,500 college students annually and is a leading factor in sexual assaults and rapes.
“Alcohol use can lead to physical and sexual assault, unplanned and unprotected sex, academic and health problems, and legal issues related to underage drinking and alcohol-related violence,” said Chris Egan, the director of Field Services for the Students Against Drunk Driving Organization.
These are exactly the problems that Peervention addresses.
“The program consists of nationally certified peer educators who provide alcohol and drug abuse prevention information to students as well as members of the community,” says Counseling Department staff member and Peervention contributor Christa Adams.
“This is a student driven program for people who want to display leadership in a positive way and help out their peers. The volunteers plan and host campus activities that are aimed at informing students about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse,” Adams said.
MCC student Susan Killian also feels that students have a lot of influence on each other. “Students spend the greatest amount of time with their peers and they become their home away from home. With so much time being spent together, their opinions and actions tend to rub off on one another,” she said.
“It’s great to see students helping each other out. Everybody has had a guest speaker talk to their class or school on the consequences of drinking and driving or drug abuse, and it gets a bit old. Peervention just seems more ‘real’ because you get to see first hand other students making positive choices in their lives,” Isunza said.
“Peervention gives students alternatives to social choices that involve using alcohol and drugs. I think that it’s great for all college students, because although they feel that they know everything, they really don’t. Some of the information that Peervention provides may be completely new to them,” Killian said.
According to Egan, the notion that “everyone is doing it” doesn’t ring true.
“Students believe that everyone else is drinking, so they must drink to fit in. Often, these beliefs are overstated. A smaller percentage of college students binge drink than their peers believe, so addressing these misconceptions can help reduce the pressure to drink,” Egan said.
According to Adams, “27 percent of people under the influence of alcohol engaged in fights, 13 percent endured some physical harm, 32 percent operated a vehicle and 3 percent were arrested for driving under the influence.”
“This student was not a bad person; he had many positive achievements and was even an ‘A’ student. He was driving while intoxicated and ended up killing a little girl and her mother. All of a sudden, all of those good things he had done in life were forgotten in a split second. You lead the best life possible, but one mistake can cancel all that out, and that is what alcohol abuse does,” Adams said.
“As peers the volunteers are not telling students not to drink, just to drink in a responsible manner,” Adams said.
Students who wish to become peer educators must first schedule an appointment with Adams and discuss their strengths and interests with her.
After this meeting, Adams can determine whether or not the student is fit to be a peer volunteer. If so, then they can proceed with the training needed to become a peer educator.
The training consists of weekly courses where the students learn about problems facing their peers as well as prevention methods.
For more information about the Peervention program, call MCC’s Counseling Department at (480) 461-7588.
Volume 44, Issue 3. Today is
Illustration by Scott Seligman/Mesa Legend