The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team will sponsor Substance Abuse Prevention Week this week in an effort to prevent substance abuse and promote safe drinking during the last home football game.
ADAPT, a volunteer group of peer educators sponsored by the Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, works to minimize alcohol and drug abuse among University students. Members have planned various events leading up to Saturday’s football game to minimize risky drinking behaviors.
“We have Substance Abuse Prevention Week during the week of the last home football game because that is when some fourth-year students attempt the fourth-year fifth,” ADAPT intern Lauren Bryant said.
The fourth-year fifth is a practice in which fourth-year students attempt to drink a fifth of liquor — 750 mL or 17 shots — before kickoff of the last home game.
“When we got word that kickoff was at 7 p.m., we were pretty worried,” said ADAPT Co-chair Hawa Ahmed, a fourth-year College student. “But we think by permeating through student leaders we can tell people that you have the power to decide what’s cool in your friend group.”
Bryant and fourth-year College student David Salomonsky are in charge of planning activities for the week, which will work to reward students for not attempting the fourth year fifth, Bryant said.
“David and I conducted focus groups to test our message for the Substance Abuse Prevention Week campaign,” Bryant said. “Using the data, we decided to use the message ‘I’ll Remember My Last Home Game’ on stadium cups and make long sleeve shirts specific to the Class of 2015.”
The first 500 students to sign the “I’ll Remember My Last Home Game” pledge will receive a free stadium cup and long sleeve T-shirt. Flags representing each fourth year who signs the pledge will be displayed on the south end of the Lawn. Pledge forms will be available at various events throughout the week.
A Bodo’s Bagel Breakfast for fourth-year students will be held in Pavilion VI Monday as part of the week.
Aaron White, a program director for an alcohol research center, will give a speech Tuesday about the dangers of memory blackouts and alcohol abuse.
“Dr. White has done quite a bit of research on the causes of alcohol blackouts and what’s going on in the brain, particularly in college students,” Gordie Center Director Susan Bruce said. “The speech also fulfills Fraternal Organization Agreement [FOA] requirements for fraternities and sororities.”
A group of University students will discuss their experiences with alcohol and drug addiction at a “Hoos in Recovery Panel” Wednesday. This panel also meets FOA requirements.
“The panel will be a great chance to have an honest conversation about addiction and recovery on a college campus,” Bryant said.
The week will conclude with the Fourth Year 5K, an alternative practice to the fourth year fifth sponsored by University peer health educators and ADAPT members Saturday at 8 a.m. in the Amphitheatre. All proceeds from the race will benefit the Leslie Baltz Foundation for Art History or Studio Art scholarships.
More than 1,000 students have signed up for the Fourth Year 5K.
“I think we’ll get a lot of pledges at the 5K,” Ahmed said. “[Given] the energy it takes to get up early and run a race at 8 a.m — those type of people don’t usually partake in the fifth.”
The Fourth-Years Trustees will sponsor a fourth-year tailgate Saturday on the south end of the Lawn before kickoff. Trustee Christy Lee, a fourth-year College student, said she and other Trustees are looking forward to participating in the tailgate and the race.
“Running the Fourth Year 5K is on the list of 115 things to do [before you graduate], so a lot of Trustees are running it,” Lee said. “We are definitely looking forward to supporting the race and all it represents.”
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