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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 1988)
murrsdiry, ’March 24« ,! 1988yA^Ias^VRag^f7s Students raise alcohol and drug awareness on campus By Lawson Reilly Alcohol is a drug, a depressant. Drinking in excess, or at the wrong place at the wrong time, can have serious legal, social and physiolgical consequences. And it can be expensive, too. But you've heard that hundreds of times, over and over again. You probably don’t listen anymore. This is why Scott Armstrong and Nancy Sanders are working with Texas A&M’s Center for Drug Prevention and Education to increase drug and alcohol awareness on campus. CDPE Assistant Coordinator Ann Coombes trains them to give drug and alcohol presentations to their peers. Armstrong, a senior marketing major, and Sanders, a junior community health major, are hoping other young students will listen to their presentations better than they listen to older people. The presentations will give student groups, such as fraternities, sororities, clubs and dorms, advice on planning safer parties and activities. Organizations can implement designated driver programs, plan alternative activities to drinking, decrease the amount of alcohol members consume and save money and reduce their liablilties at the same time. Armstrong says young adults don’t want an older person preaching to them about the dangers of drugs. But they will listen to another student, someone they can relate to, he says. “It’d be more beneficial to them to have someone their own age come out and talk to them, ” he says. Armstrong’s mother is a public nurse for the state of Texas, a factor he says contributed to his interest in helping people with drug and alcohol problems. When he learned of CDPE’s program, he volunteered. “Basically, I want to help people,” he says. “I come in here so I can be less ignorant and so other people can be less ignorant. ” Sanders’ interest in helping people stems from a similar source. Her father, a criminal lawyer and former federal magistrate, is also an active community worker. Sanders wanted to start a project at A&M similar to a grade-school education program sponsored by the Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse. Then she saw a flyer promoting CDPE’s peer program. She volunteered to learn more about helping people. Armstrong and Sanders say the most abused drug on campus is alcohol. “Alcohol is more socially acceptable, ” Sanders says. “People think it’s cool to have a beer. Everything revolves around alcohol. ” Armstrong and Sanders are helping Coombe organize a chapter of BACCHUS (Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students) at A&M. BACCHUS is a national organization that persuades people to make responsible decisions about drinking. “People who don’t drink aren’t the only members, ” Armstrong says. “Even if you’re an alcoholic or a heavy drug user, we want you. ” BACCHUS is a social organization that has as much fun as any fraternity or sorority. Armstrong says, but in a responsible manner. Armstrong, a member of the A&M boxing team, quit drinking two years ago because, although he never got seriously drunk, he tended to get rowdy after a few beers. He says 10 percent of drinkers become alcoholics. “It’s too scary, why take the chance,” he says. “I don't know a lot about drugs, but 1 know enough not to drink.” Sanders says she isn’t taking a holier-than-thou attitude when she advocates responsible drinking. She drinks, too. Sanders just wants to present the facts to students and let them make their choices. “I know where they’ve been,” she says, “I can understand. ” Armstrong says a lot of people drink to lose their inhibitions. “Some people are so insecure about themselves that they feel they have to drink something so they can mix with people, ” he says. But the next day, he says, they are thinking, “What have I done? Where has my money gone?” Sanders thinks the solution to widespread alcohol abuse lies in making drinking less acceptable, like smoking. If peer pressure could be turned against drinking, the problem would quickly diminish, she says. “I don’t like to see alcohol as the main reason to go out. ” she says. “Sometimes I like to not drink just to beat the system. " Armstrong and Sanders want people to think about possible consequences, to themselves and others, before they start drinking just for the sake of drinking. If some people could see themselves when they were drunk they’d probably never get drunk again. Armstrong says. Sanders wants to get a social worker’s certification in drug and alcohol use and possibly go into counseling after she graduates. Armstrong says he’ll also continue helping people with drug and alcohol problems after his graduation. “I’ll stick with it all my life, Scott Armstrong and Nancy Sanders give presentations to A&M organizations encouraging students to make responsible decisions about alcohol and drug use. probably, '' he says. “It's a job that needs to be done. " In the meantime they'll concentrate on organizing BACCHUS and working with the CDPE. Both are optimistic about their challenge. “We’ll be successful. Armstrong says. QyflHOMA—- What do you think about "just Say No"? By Lawson Reilly In the unlikely event that Timothy Leary walks up and tells you to, “Turn on, tune in and drop out.” you know what to say, don’t you? Just say, “No.” This philosophy may seem rather simplistic, but it is aimed at elementary, junior high and high school-aged children. Still, most of us aren’t so far- removed from high school that we can’t view the “Just Say No” campaign from the perspective of a 9th or 10th grader walking into a pungent, smoke-filled restroom for the first time. So, what do college students think about “Just Say No”? Anthropology graduate student Peter Wamock says the campaign is targeting the right group, young people. But he says responsibility lies with the federal government to take a firm, consistent stand against drug abuse. “1 don’t think the campaigns need to be stronger,” Wamock says. “I think the enforcement needs to be stronger.” Four years of work in a Michigan research laboratory where drugs were tested on animals has scared all chemical experimentation urges out of Wamock. “There’s no way I will use drugs after what I’ve seen, ” he says. “Drugs are dumb and I’ve got enough problems without doing something dumb to myself." Pam Maxey, a junior speech communications major, says “Just Say No’’ campaigns are effective, especially for grade-school students She thinks it scares them. “It’s intimidating. ' Maxey says. Senior economics major Bret Hotchkiss isn't sure of the program’s effectiveness, but he says something must be done to make people aware of the drug problem. “If it gets the message to someone then it’s serving its purpose, ” Hotchkiss says. “I think it’s a good idea to advertise the facts." Darren Nobles, a freshman electrical engineering major, considers spreading awareness the campaign’s primary function. “Some people aren’t open to the fact that drugs are taking over now, ” he says. “The more it’s publicized the more it gets to the people, ” he says. Junior physical education major Ron Williams says “Just Say No” reaches children whose parents would rather avoid than face the drug problem. “1 don’t think you could ever overpublicize an issue as important as that is,” he says. Debbie Strain, a junior economics major, says the campaign’s attempt to warn people is better than none at all. “It seems like society has somewhat turned from drugs, ” she says. But Strain says drugs are still a serious problem in grade schools. They are deteriorating education, she says. Senior speech communications major Virginia Minnick shares Strain’s opinion, that promoting “Just Say No” is better than doing nothing. “It’s a good effort. ” she says. “It's better than sitting back and not doing anything." Helena Garcia, a freshman general studies major, says the campaign needs a new slogan. “It’s been around a long time,” she says. “It’s kind of old." Libby Brownstead, a freshman painting and drawing major at North Texas State University visiting friends at A&M. says the “Just Say No” campaigns and slogans are getting a little boring. “They’ve been blown completely out of proportion,” she says. “They should get a new campaign slogan — or get Nancy Reagan off the job. ” Senior psychology major Marty Tate says thinks “Just Say No” is off- target. “It totally underaddresses the real issue,” he says. “It’s not the drugs themselves but why they're taking the drugs. You’re treating the symptoms but not the disease. ” Michelle Turner, a freshman pre physical therapy major, gave a blunt opinion on the campaigns. “I think they’re kind of stupid.” she says. People don’t base their decisions to use drugs on a poster. Turner says. Debi Medina, a theater arts and political science major, says some high school-aged kids think it’s “cool” to do the opposite of what “Just Say No” advises them. “I think it reaches some people, but a lot of them it doesn't help. ” she says. Senior speech communications major and mother of two children Susan Hodgess thinks “Just Say No” is being pushed to hard. Her 9- and 12-year-old are getting sick of it. She says when they get out of school they start dancing around and yelling, which is normal for any kid who’s been kept in a chair for five or six hours. But guess what they yell. “Justsay, ‘YES!’”
