As part of National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, observed during the third full week of October, GW’s Center for Alcohol and other Drug Education asked students to be wiser—about how they respond to social situations that involve drinking.
On Oct. 13, the center hosted Be Wiser Day—an entire day’s worth of programming that started at 9 a.m. and continued until 11 p.m. More than 50 members of the GW community volunteered throughout the day.
In the morning, students picked up personalized blood-alcohol content (BAC) cards and 160 people signed Be Wiser pledges, committing themselves to be responsible about their partying habits and to help keep their friends healthy. The center also screened the 2008 film Haze, a documentary directed by Pete Schuermann about hazing and college drinking.
A total of 568 people have signed pledges to date, according to Katie Bean, assistant director of the center, and 194 people have completed short surveys about personal behavior related to alcohol, or Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDITs).
Nearly two dozen people turned in raffle tickets which showed they had completed more than four of the Be Wiser Day events, which included a panel of medical professionals and a mystery theater night.
The panel of experts from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the emergency room at the GW Medical Center and the volunteer student group, Emergency Medical Response Group (EMeRG) discussed responses to alcohol overdose on a national level, as well as on campus.
In the late afternoon, GW students gathered on University Yard to construct the “Wall that Alcohol Built,” a four-part display that includes one wall each for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors documenting their experiences with alcohol use and abuse.
Programming continued well into the night with a “murder mystery dinner theater” in West Hall that was so popular that staff had to turn people away.
Asked to provide some general guidance for students, Ms. Bean encouraged watching out for friends who are drinking, staying away from drinking games and shots—neither of which is conducive to proper pacing—and most importantly, calling for help if there are noticeable signs of alcohol overdose.
“Students also need to understand what blood alcohol-content means and how to make sure to stay safe,” she says. “One way to do that is to utilize personalized BAC cards available from the center.”