This summer's first-year Penn State students were the University's first incoming class to complete an online education program called AlcoholEdu for College. The preventative program was created by Boston-based company Outside the Classroom, whose mission is to address "epidemic-level health issues." AlcoholEdu is one example of the ways in which Penn State continuously looks to diminish the misuse of alcohol among its students. The University received a $245,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to support its implementation. (more)
Eleven percent of all the alcohol sold in the United States is consumed by drinkers under the age of 21, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Is it any wonder, then, that binge drinking is one of the most serious public health problems facing our colleges and universities, asks Penn State Vice President for University Relations Bill Mahon. He urges parents to make certain their student is aware of the dangers of engaging in alcohol-fueled behavior. (more)
Dawn Blasko, immediate past chair of the University Faculty Senate, told Penn State's Board of Trustees Friday (May 16) about initiatives undertaken by the Senate in the past year, including action to change the First Year Seminar general education requirement, addressing student binge drinking and establishing a Faculty Senate Trustee Scholarship. (more)
Penn State continuously looks for ways to diminish the misuse of alcohol among its students by pioneering new programs such as AlcoholEdu for College, an online learning module for first-year students throughout the Penn State system, a panel of experts explained Friday (May 16) in a report to the University's Board of Trustees. Those presenting included Gail Hurley, interim vice president for Student Affairs; Margaret Spear, senior director of University Health Services, Linda LaSalle, coordinator of Health Education Services and Linda Higginson, assistant dean for advising in the Division of Undergraduate Studies. (more)
Steady increases in the number of citations for public drunkenness, driving under the influence, and liquor law violations point to a persistent problem of alcohol abuse in the State College and University Park communities. The problem mirrors national trends and occurs against a backdrop of an increase in alcohol-related businesses selling more alcohol in the State College area in recent years. To help develop solutions, community members are invited to engage in a public dialogue titled "Alcohol: Making the Difficult Decisions." The event will be held on Tuesday, March 25, 6-9 p.m., at the State College Borough Building, 243 S. Allen St. The Public Issues Forum of Centre County is hosting the gathering, in cooperation with the State College Area School and The Partnership: Campus and Community United Against Dangerous Drinking. (more)
A team of researchers at Penn State has used an insect model to reveal, for the first time, a physiological basis for the effect of alcohol on male sexual behavior, including increased sexual arousal and decreased sexual inhibition. It is the first study to characterize the effects of chronic alcohol exposure in fruit flies. The research, published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE, resulted in four novel findings with broad importance for further addiction research. "As a result of our research with the fruit fly, we are now just beginning to discover the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neural changes in the brain that result from the chronic use of alcohol and that result in alcohol addiction and other behavior changes in our fly model," said research team leader Kyung-An Han, associate professor of biology and neuroscientist. (more)
Penn State has received a $245,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to support implementation of the AlcoholEdu for College program in an effort to help reverse the increasing behavior of dangerous drinking among the college-age demographic. In the program, which will be implemented University-wide, students who have accepted an offer of admission for fall or summer 2008 must complete three of four online modules prior to arriving for classes. The fourth module will be completed during students' first semester at Penn State. " (more)
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has awarded a $50,000 grant to local police in the State College area to continue an initiative to combat underage and excessive drinking. The Source Identification Project (SIP), a collaborative effort of the State College Borough Police and Penn State Police since 2004, is now in its third year of funding from the PLCB's Bureau of Alcohol Education. According to State College Police Chief Tom King and Penn State Police Chief Steve Shelow, the program has been in operation for four years. (more)
College is a time for many students to be on their own for the first time, have fun and make their own decisions. Too often though, when it comes to having fun, some students can fail to realize that a measure of responsibility is much needed to stay safe and free of trouble. In the past year, more than 850 underage drinking citations and arrests and 200 public drunkenness citations and arrests have been issued by Penn State University Police. (more)
"Making 'to do' lists is a common activity in the days before your student returns to Penn State," says Bill Mahon, vice president for University Relations and co-chair of the Town-Gown Partnership United Against Dangerous Drinking. "I urge you to include on your list a discussion with your student about issues relating to the consumption of alcohol. Regardless of whether your student drinks, he or she is likely to come into contact, in social situations, with students who do drink. Inevitably, some students will drink to excess… The many initiatives aimed at reducing alcohol abuse are far more likely to be successful if parents and other family members take the time to talk frankly with their students about drinking--about the serious legal consequences of under-age drinking, falsification of personal ID, and dangers of driving under the influence." (more)
