PSU requiring alcohol course
By Mark Leberfinger, mleberfinger@altoonamirror.com
POSTED: May 17, 2008
All first-year Penn State Altoona students will take an alcohol education course — an effort to reduce dangerous drinking and its negative outcomes, the university said.
The Web-based AlcoholEdu for College program is required throughout the Penn State system, including University Park, said Linda LaSalle, coordinator for Penn State Health Education Services.
The university’s board of trustees received a report about the effort Friday. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation gave Penn State a $245,000 grant to start the program as part of a three-year initiative.
High-risk drinking and the negative outcomes associated with it are a national public health problem, LaSalle said.
Similar patterns are occurring at Penn State, more substantially at residential colleges such as Altoona, where there is a higher concentration of traditional residential students ages 18-24.
Students taking the program will learn how alcohol affects memory, learning, decision-making and could lead to sexual assault. Blood-alcohol levels also will be studied.
Penn State Altoona police made 205 on-campus arrests — 125 in residence halls — for alcohol violations between 2004 and 2006, according to a U.S. Department of Education Campus Security Statistics Web site.
Logan Township, whose jurisdiction surrounds most of the Ivyside campus, made 59 underage alcohol-related arrests in 2007 and 18 as of Friday, Police Chief Ron Heller said.
“This is a very small percentage of students there, as there are about 4,000 students. For many, it’s their first time away from home for any length of time — their first real freedom. I’m sure that plays a factor in this,” Heller said.
Students will receive a letter July 1 instructing them to log into the online program starting July 31. Students must have the first three modules done by Aug. 24. The fourth module will be completed during their first semester.
More than 500 colleges and universities in the United States — including Big Ten schools Indiana University-Bloomington and the University of Iowa — use the program.
A study done at Iowa, which started the program in the fall of 2006, showed a 15 percent reduction in first-year students reporting hangovers and a 10 percent reduction in first-year students reporting blackouts.
‘‘I hope the university’s thoughts are correct that this will make a difference,” Heller said. “We’ll have to wait and see if the small percentage of students who currently make the wrong decisions will make the right decisions. Drinking under the age of 21 in Pennsylvania is a violation of the law — that’s the bottom line.’’
Mirror Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger is at 946-7462.
Member Comments
View Comments: | 1-8 | Post a comment
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1966254
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05-22-08 2:13 PM
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They do not listen or pay any attention to good advice anyway. They are going to do just as they please. As I walk the streets in the Juniata section of the city you can always spot where the students are living. On trash day there are boxes of empty liquor, wine and beer bottles and cans piled at the curb. I think a lot of them just go to school to party instead of get an education. Wasting their parents and the taxpayers money.
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Chuxspringer
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05-19-08 8:48 AM
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I was part of a coalition on the problem drinking several years ago. ALL they ever paid to it was 'lip service." It's just another publiuc notice that they are truly concerned. It's all about da money; show dem da money!
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JimmyC
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05-18-08 5:40 PM
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PSU requiring alcohol course, and "what about drug abuse!!.
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Jen421
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05-17-08 7:27 PM
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I agree that its just a money making scheme by the school. I went to Penn State not long ago and they try EVERYTHING they can in order to get more and more money out of people. It pathetic that a person can barely afford to get an education, not to mention, now they have to pay for useless (yet required to graduate) classes. Sounds a lot like the "first year seminar" classes a student had to take their freshman semester when I was going there. Stupid and pointless. Kids / college students are going to experiment with whatever they want to anyway. A required class is not going to phase them.
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KlausVR
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05-17-08 5:24 PM
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Maybe they'd not drink so much if they had something to look forward to except life-long repayment of education loans; no social security / medicare by the time they retire; probably no pension plan; gut worrying about personal retirement savings not being gutted by economic downturns and/or financial institution chicanery; their jobs being shipped off to India or China or some other low pay (by our standards) country; astronomical health care / insurance costs; etc. Good luck!
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jimdandy
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05-17-08 2:47 PM
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Maybe PSU can pay for this program by DOUBLING the price for student parking this fall!!! They're in desperate need for money you know!
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tealmom20
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05-17-08 9:44 AM
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This is a great thing for these young kids to do. As a mom, with a college freshman, I talked to her about drinking but all the talking in the world won't keep these kids from doing it. They're invincible at this age. Maybe seeing what can happen will make an bigger impression!
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JohnGP
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05-17-08 6:09 AM
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So who is expected to pay for this? They are probably doing it just to make more money!
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