Aware, Awake, Alive! comes to CSUMB

As part of National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week (NCAAW) Oct. 21–25, CSU Monterey Bay is offering contests, games, and panel discussions to help students understand the ramifications of alcohol and its effect.

The activities are designed to reinforce personal responsibility and respect for state laws and campus policies when it comes to the consumption of alcohol.

This year’s activities include:

• "Health Fest,” sponsored by the POWER Peer Education Program, highlighting campus and community organizations dedicated to helping students make safe and responsible choices

• “Meet the Greeks” Student Panel, sponsored by the Multicultural Greek Council, allowing CSUMB students and family members with different perspectives and experiences with alcohol to speak with others in an open discussion format

• Gatorade pong tournament, sponsored by the Student Athlete Advisory Council

• Fireside Chat, sponsored by the Residential Housing Association, with information provided by community resources

• CSUMB's sixth annual Jell-O wrestling tournament

• A Campus Band Night, co-sponsored by the Otter Student Union

Now observed on more than 800 college campuses, NCAAW has grown to become the largest single event in all of academia because students take ownership in designing and implementing this observance for their campus communities. This week also provides campuses the opportunity to showcase healthy lifestyles free from the abuse or illegal use of alcohol and to combat negative stereotypes associated with college drinking behavior.

Every 12 days, a college student dies from alcohol poisoning

“NCAAW allows us to show our students here at CSUMB – particularly new students – that most of their peers are not abusing alcohol and most are making healthy and safe decisions,” said Gary Rodriguez, health promotion and prevention specialist for the Campus Health Center.

NCAAW 2013 also marks the launch of the “Aware, Awake, Alive!” program at CSUMB, after a pledge was made by CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White for implementation at all 23 campuses.

The program equips students with the tools and knowledge to prevent alcohol-related deaths. Scott and Julia Starkey created it after they lost their son, Carson, to alcohol poisoning while he was a freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The Starkeys determined that their program would need to use the peer-to-peer method to give students information about alcohol poisoning prevention that they could share among themselves. The motto of the program is “Drunk or dying? You make the call.” “This program is ideal for college students because it educates them on the symptoms of alcohol poisoning, creates awareness on the conditions that enable it, and encourages responsibility for one another in situations where alcohol is consumed,” Rodriguez said.

NCAAW at CSUMB is a collaborative effort of Health & Wellness Services, the POWER Peer Education Program, Student Housing & Residential Life, the Residential Housing Association, Athletics, the Student Athlete Advisory Council, Student Activities & Leadership Development, the Office of Judicial Affairs & Community Standards, University Police Department, Conference & Event Services, Sigma Theta Psi Sorority, Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, the Multicultural Greek Council, Associated Students, Otter Student Union, Sun Street Recovery Centers and the California Highway Patrol.