CSU
probes alcohol treatment
By Todd Leland
On-line Forty-Niner
This
semester Cal State Long Beach will host
a program designed to make students more
knowledgeable about the consequences of
alcohol and drug abuse.
The program owes its inception to a $2 million
state grant given to the California State
University system.
“Student alcohol abuse is a problem at universities
of all sizes and in all communities,” said
CSU Chancellor Charles Reed in a statement
released by the Chancellor’s Office. “We
cannot sit back and say alcohol is just
a part of college life. Our universities,
our communities and our state must work
together to attack this problem with intensity
and commitment.”
The CSULB program has been in action for
the past year but will play a larger role
in the campus community starting this semester.
“We have been referring offenders of the
on campus alcohol policy to the alcohol
awareness program for the past year,” said
Dawn Stalk of the University Police.
The Alcohol and other Drugs Awareness program
started to gain support after recent alcohol
and drug related incidents on CSU campuses
caused students to become seriously ill
and, in one situation, a death.
“Some alcohol related incidents on other
CSU campuses really set this program in
motion,” said Student Health Services Clinical
Director Larry Harvey. “A couple of incidents
at San Diego State and the unfortunate death
of a student at Cal State Chico has made
us aware of the importance and necessity
of this program.”
Alcohol and drugs on CSU campuses is a big
issue said Harvey. The program is a giant
leap in the process of getting students
to use alcohol and drugs responsibly, if
at all, he said.
The program is a series of lectures and
classes, mandatory to those who have been
referred by the University Police for breaking
the on campus alcohol policy, and open to
anyone who wishes to make themselves aware
of the effects of alcohol and drugs.
“This is the first year where there will
be a full-time counselor on campus to deal
with students who have questions about or
problems with alcohol and drugs,” Harvey
said.
Harvey said students need to know how dangerous
alcohol and drugs can be.
He said he feels the Alcohol and other Drugs
Program will get the point across that there
will be horrible consequences if students
don’t act responsibly with these substances.
“The program is a great idea,” said Victor
Cannon, budget operations coordinator at
Student Health Services. “There are many
people involved and the program is going
to play a big part on campus this year.”
|
