A forceful set of reasons
Coalition helps anti-binge drinking message
to stick with new magnets
A forceful set of reasons
Coalition helps anti-binge drinking message
to stick with new magnets
In Sept. 9, many students living in UD residence halls found a little surprise in their mailboxes–a magnet emblazoned with the first entry on a list of "The Top 10 Reasons Not to Get Drunk," courtesy of the Building Responsibility Coalition (BRC).
Starting with reason number 10, "Because It CAN Happen to You," each week a randomly selected group of students received magnets with a new reason until the campaign ended in mid-November. Then a poster and T-shirts featuring all top 10 reasons were unveiled and distributed on the campus. To see the complete list go to [www.udel.edu/brc/top10.html].
Each week's new magnet also was available at central campus locations including the student centers and the Student Health Center.
Created by students for students, the magnet messages are colorful and to-the-point, highlighting all the reasons why being drunk and out-of-control is not desirable or fun, not to mention often causing major problems for the drinker.
According to Tracy Bachman, BRC project coordinator, the new campaign was conceived in Atlanta last spring at a meeting for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded sites. Ten schools have received grants from the fund to develop campus community coalitions to address the problems of student binge drinking. Students from those schools brainstormed possible ideas to raise student awareness about alcohol on their individual campuses.
"We were to design radio station ads, newspapers ads, etc. We chose to come up with a poster campaign," Kari Lynn Brown, Bachman's graduate assistant, said. "We all hope students view these posters and realize there is more to life than getting drunk."
"Whether it makes students question their drinking habits or not, who knows?" said Casey O'Brien, a resident assistant who will be serving the BRC as the liaison for the Resident Student Association. "I saw a few people read over the list. They laughed at a few of them and said, 'Yeah, that is true.'"
JEANINE MCGANN
