Athletic Department gets grant for alcohol awareness

The grant was also given to the University of Maine and the women's lacrosse program at Wisconsin. This year, all Penn athletes will attend new drug and alcohol workshops with their particular team, in an attempt by the Athletic Department to control binge drinking among athletes. The workshops are part of the NCAA Choices program, which grants universities money to develop and carry out drug and alcohol seminars for their student-athletes. With the help of Kate Ward-Gaus, a Health Educator in the Student Health Services department, the Athletic Department created a proposal to the NC AA and was awarded $8,890 last May. The University of Maine, as well as the women's lacrosse team at the University of Wisconsin, were also among the winners. "We don't think there is a particular drinking problem [at Penn] among athletes, but we do have national figures which show the pattern can arise easily," explained Ward-Gaus. "We hope this proactive measure of offering workshops and discussions with the teams will avoid problems." Last year, however, a freshman member of the women's soccer team was taken to the hospital during the first week of classes for alcohol poisoning, allegedly as a result of a hazing incident. According to a national survey of students at 140 colleges published by College Health in March 1997, both male and female student athletes are known to drink more than those students who are not involved in athletics. Of male athletes, 61 percent admitted to binge drinking, while only 43 percent of non-athletes engaged in binge drinking. Similarly, 50 percent of female athletes engaged in binge drinking, while 36 percent of non-athletes admitted to such patterns of drinking. Although the Athletic Department has traditionally held drug and alcohol seminars for their athletes, this is the first time students themselves will be involved in the guidance. "We found that peer conversations and advice really is more meaningful," said Ward-Gaus. "With the team mates talking together, they can learn as a group." According to the proposal, coaches of varsity teams nominate members of the team, who upon agreement, undergo six hours of training with the Student Health Services. These trained student-athletes then meet with their team and lead discussions in reducing excessive use of drugs, as well as reducing the harmful effect of drinking, such as violence. "It's also a great way for each team to then set up boundaries for behavior, as well as expectations for the members," said Ward-Gaus. So far there are 28 Penn student-athletes trained, and the goal is to have at least one leader from each of Penn's 30 varsity sports teams. "It's a unique program because it gives the students a chance to get involved and give the seminars," said men's lacrosse senior John Ward, one of the trained leaders. "Most athletes would agree it's the best way to get the point across. Also, each team can develop their own guidelines as a group, and that will lead to better results than one standard policy," he added. Although none of the trained athletes have met with their teams yet, plans are underway to do so. Sophomore Melissa Rantz, also a lacrosse player, reports the women's lacrosse team will not have their workshop until January, when the practice season begins. However, Rantz noted she hopes to meet with the freshmen members before then to discuss college drinking with them. The NCAA funding also provides money for other related projects which are expected to benefit both the Athletic Department and Penn. Mike DiSabato, a former wrestler for Ohio State, will give a speech titled "Athletes, Alcohol and Violence" October 19 -- which will be open to all Penn students. The NCAA grant also allows for a survey across the entire Penn campus to try to understand usage patterns of drugs and alcohol. By requesting for students' extracurricular activities, the Athletic Department and Student Health Services hopes to determine how the patterns compare among athletes and non-athletes. More training for the student-athlete leaders is planned for February. This session will focus on communication skills for providing information, and it will be coordinated with Penn's Drug and Alcohol Resource Team (DART) program.

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