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ADAPT to provide water coolers at four fraternities

Beginning this weekend, students may enjoy more beverage options around Rugby Road as the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team begins a new trial phase in its new program to place water coolers at fraternity parties.

ADAPT asked the fraternities of Delta Tau Delta, Sigma Chi, Sigma Pi and Theta Delta Chi to participate in a month-long trial period, making water coolers available in their houses during parties. They said they hope to have coolers available at all fraternity parties next semester.

"We'd like to see water available as an alternative beverage at parties to make non-drinkers more comfortable and promote overall safety at the parties," ADAPT Chair Kathy Radd said.

ADAPT Advisor Marian Bonday also said it is important to have water available in an environment where many students may be overheated or need hydration.

"It's a protective behavior to alternate [alcoholic] with non-alcoholic beverages," Bonday said. "The water coolers are an additional tool to help students protect themselves and their friends from negative consequences."

The trial phase, which begins today, is part of an initiative by ADAPT and the Inter-Fraternity Council to learn more about the logistics of the program. Assessing student reception is a major goal, as well as working out smaller issues such as cooler and cup placement, the amount of water needed and cooler maintenance.

"We're letting the fraternities decide how they want to run the actual implementation of the water coolers," ADAPT member Abigail Atwood said. "When we present it to IFC there will be hard evidence of how it has gone so far."

Both Radd and Atwood said the IFC has been very cooperative.

"We're happy to support any kind of project that will offer other things besides alcohol at parties," IFC spokesperson Scott Cohen said.

The program recently received five water coolers donated by Gatorade that it will use during the trial period. The Office of Health Promotion's Social Norms Marketing Division also has agreed to fund the program, as 30 coolers eventually will be needed to equip all the fraternities.

Despite enthusiasm and solid funding for the water cooler program, logistical concerns remain for fraternities in particular.

"It may not look as feasible as it originally did," Cohen said. "Originally, we thought it would be bottled water and then it changed to water coolers. This is great in theory but hard to keep up in practice. It puts more of an onus on individual houses."

The trial phase beginning tonight will allow ADAPT and the IFC to see the program in action and evaluate these logistical concerns.

"We don't want to force something upon them," Atwood said. "We want it to be something they want to do for the University community."

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