Josh Falcone – News Editor
As a part of the Week of Welcome, SCSU’s Drug and Alcohol Resource Center set up across from Connecticut Hall last Wednesday to remind students of their various services.
Don’t be Afraid of the DARC offered those that stopped by a student success kit and a cool ice cream treat.
Ashton Chandler, Graduate Intern at the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center said the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center wanted to make both new and returning students of the center and the numerous programs it offers.
“We are just trying to, because it is the beginning of the school year, let students know that our office exists and the services that we provide.” Chandler said. “So we are giving out little kits that contain our program calendar, information about our Safe RIDES program, and other services that our office has.”
Chandler said the success kit also contained the Center’s social media information, and that students who stopped by on the hot day were given a celebratory treat.
“We are also giving away ice cream,” she said, “just to be festive and hopefully we will encourage people to sign up to be volunteers, to come to our program, and to ultimately make safer choices when it comes to drugs and alcohol.”
The Drug and Alcohol Resource Center will be set up at various places around the Southern campus throughout the rest of September, Chandler said, to offer students the chance to sign up for the Safe RIDES and they will be holding an event at the end of the month.
“We are going to do a campus safety program in the quad at the end of the month with all the different support service offices on campus,” Chandler said.
The Drug and Alcohol Resource Center, Chandler said, will also be having Al-Anon guest speakers this semester.
University Assistant in the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center Stephanie Carli said getting students to be mindful of the center and what it is about.
“The biggest point of trying to get the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center out in the open as soon as possible is to show students this is who we are,” Carli said. “Because if you see a bunch of students come up to the table and we say, ‘have you heard of the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center?’ Most of them will say no they haven’t or they have but don’t know where we are located.”
Carli said this event was a way to also change students’ preconceived notions of what the center is all about.
“The other thing is a lot of time, this is just the way this has always been, but students will hear the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center and they will go the other way or they won’t want to come over to the table because they think we are just going to start lecturing them,” she said.
One thing, Carli said, was to inform students where the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center stands.
“We don’t come from an abstinence program,” she said, “so we have to talk reduction, so whenever we talk to students we are bringing to them educational information and trying to educate them on how to make safe and responsible decisions.”
Carli said while the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center is there to educate students on making safe and responsible decisions, they do not condone drinking to anyone under the legal drinking age.
“But we know this is college and that is what is happening so we want to make sure that students are aware of what they are drinking, what is tolerance, what is the difference between males and females, how much can you really handle, and how to play it safe.” Carli said. “So you are not winding up in the hospital or in a dangerous situation.”
In October the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center will have a Drunken Obstacle Course, Carli said, which will be held in the quad and students will get to wear beer goggles and race each other to various areas that include educational information about alcohol.
“One section is about standard drink, one is about defining different terms,” she said, “but it is a lot of fun and we give out free t-shirts.”
Carli reiterated that the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center just wants students to know that the center is there for them.
“The biggest thing is showing them that we are not scary people and that we are available, whether they need assistance for themselves, friends, or if they want to learn something new we provide a whole range of items,” she said.
Carli also made clear that the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center offers assistance with more than just what is in the center’s name.
“We are not just about drugs and alcohol,” she said, “there are so many other addictions we tend not to think of, such as there is gambling addiction, there is food addiction, sex addiction, shopping addiction, caffeine addiction.”
