UNCW substance prevention program earns federal grant
Nov 3rd, 2009 • Category: News, UncategorizedWILMINGTON – The U.S. Department of Education is showcasing UNC Wilmington’s gender-based substance prevention program as a model for other schools across the nation.
The program is focused on gender strategies to teach students about consequences of high risk drinking and the unique pressures for each gender.
Program officials say males are often competitive about drinking, but they’re not the only ones with gender-related drinking traits.
One of the messages sent to women is that drinking makes them more attractive. Students that have heard the negative messages say they are learning to drink more responsibly.
“There are many people that don’t know enough about drinking and they just go out and do it and aren’t safe about it, and they get put at risk for getting assaulted or doing things they don’t really want to do and regret it the next morning,” program participant Alyssa Rosenberg said.
UNC Wilmington’s program is one of five in the country to receive model status, earning the school $128,000. It’s the university’s second grant since 2005 to help support the substance prevention program on campus.
The majority of the funds goes to providing the peer educators and giving evaluation tests.
“It’s specifically designed so that other schools can look at our program and copy them, and so we will move some of our materials into very user-friendly versions that other schools can do,” Rebecca Caldwell, director of the Substance Abuse and Prevention program, said.
UNCW officials report that high risk drinking and drug use by college students can contribute to academic, social and health problems that can last a lifetime.
As a result of the program, high risk drinking has reduced by 18 percent among men and 14 percent among women at UNCW.
For more information about the program, visit the second floor of the Westside Hall on campus, or call (910) 962-4136.
Source: http://news14.com/coastal-news-110-content/top_stories/617040/uncw-substance-prevention-program-earns-federal-grant
