by Monica Schwarze
Staff Writer
Is excessive alcohol consumption a necessary evil of college life? Or do most students make responsible choices and enjoy their college experience while drinking in moderation, or not at all?
As coordinator of the University of La Verne’s Students Together Educating Peers (STEP) program, Tracy Germann tackles these concerns involving alcohol, as well as drugs, sex and other issues that can be tricky or embarrassing for students to discuss.
STEP was founded when ULV received a government grant in 1993. For the past two years, the program has tried to educate students about the consequences of alcohol abuse. This year the group is being led by peer health coordinator Merritt Beckett, a senior. Germann said that the program’s goal is not to dissuade students from drinking, but to give them information about what alcohol can do to their bodies and their lives.
“I definitely am not about not drinking,” she said. “I’m about drinking in moderation so you don’t miss the good in life.”
Germann believes that an alcohol awareness program is essential to ULV student life, although the rules of the University state that alcoholic beverages are not allowed on campus.
“Officially this is a dry campus,” said Germann. “I think of it more as a moist campus.”
STEP has gone through many changes since it started. But with an active membership of six peer educators and a student coordinator, it is finally finding its place on campus.
“STEP started just as an idea in my head, but we’re finally picking up momentum,” said Germann.
Junior Cherryl Cercado, a two-year member of STEP, believes that the club is still at a stage where it is learning from experience.
“Right now, we’re learning from the successful projects we had last year, and we’re working from there,” said Cercado.
Germann agrees that the club can build on past experience. “STEP is not yet where we want it to be,” she said. “I would still say it’s new. We’re still not out there as much as we could be.”
This semester, a main goal for STEP is making sure that its message is heard.
“The main thing this semester is for us to promote our club,” said sophomore peer educator Adriana Macias. “A lot of people don’t know we’re here. We want to get the word out, not only to people who want to be involved, but to people who might need our help.”
During the fall semester, STEP will be available to serve “mocktails” at other clubs’ events. The program will also sponsor several events during National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week from Oct. 30-Nov. 4.
An ongoing event during Alcohol Awareness Week will be a school-wide accuracy campaign that will attempt to educate students on alcohol use on the La Verne campus.
“The perception is that students are drinking a lot more than they are,” said Germann, who, for the past two years, has conducted a number of surveys to compare perceptions with actual alcohol consumption at ULV.
“Only 59 percent of students reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, but 83 percent of students think that the average student on campus drinks once a week or more.”
Germann believes that these results can be attributed to the “‘everybody’s doing it’ kind of thing. It seems like it’s not seen as cool not to be hammered. But the reality is most students don’t go out every weekend and get hammered. We want to change the perception of what happens on campus to match what actually does happen on campus.”
The results of Germann’s surveys will be posted in the Quad during Alcohol Awareness Week. During the week, Germann and peer educators will quiz students about the survey results.
“If people know the facts, they’ll get a prize,” said Germann, who plans on giving away $2 bills as prizes. “We want people to know what’s really happening on campus.”
STEP will also sponsor a pledge campaign during Alcohol Awareness Week. Students will be able to pledge not to drink or not to drink and drive for one week. They will be given wristbands to wear as a reminder of their pledge.
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, STEP will sponsor a “Free Night of Fun,” a night of carnival style events that will be both cost- and alcohol-free.
The program is also planning a “Royal Flush” tournament in the Student Center on Nov. 4 to wrap up the week’s events. The theme of the tournament will be “If you drink, don’t bowl.” It will feature a contest where students will have opportunity to win prizes by throwing basketballs or fake vomit into toilets to illustrate the nauseating effects of excessive drinking.
Germann expects some criticism of the tournament’s unconventional way of showing the unattractive side of alcohol abuse.
“I don’t want to gross people out, but I do want to get their attention,” said Germann. “I think that there is a fine line between offending people and making something noticeable. You’ve got to be out there being creative or the message will be lost.”
“The Royal Flush,” is not the first controversial activity that STEP has sponsored. Last February, the program sold condom keychains in honor of Love Carefully Week.
Although she described the sale as “extremely successful,” Germann said that “condom keychains had never been sold on this campus before, so I expected some backlash. I don’t mind if someone doesn’t think something our program does is appropriate. Criticism gives me an opportunity to open up some dialogue . . . I’m always open to new ideas.”
Germann is interested in using STEP as a vehicle to discuss how alcohol consumption is related to safe sex. This December, STEP will sell holiday packets that include condoms. If that sale is successful, Spring Break packets will also be sold.
She and STEP have visited University 100 classes to talk about safe sex and alcohol consumption.
Germann said students “seemed appropriately uncomfortable” about the subject of the talks.
“Their attitude was a good thing,” she said. “I said, ‘There’s obviously a level of discomfort here, and we’re talking about sex in a fully lit room . . . imagine what will happen if you’re at a party and the lights are down low.’”
Germann began her involvement with alcohol awareness as a graduate student at Michigan State University. She lived in the residence halls at MSU and noticed that “every weekend we had to send someone to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. It [alcohol abuse] was just rampant.”
After graduation from MSU, Germann worked as a residence director at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she became involved with their alcohol awareness program. When she heard about the La Verne grant, she knew the job was right for her.
“I called up the University and said, ‘You want me because I have some experience with this,’” said Germann.
“You can’t just be out there saying ‘Gee, don’t do it,’” said Germann. “‘This is your brain on drugs’ didn’t work. You’ve got to be more creative than that. I’m trying to do stuff that hasn’t been done at La Verne before.”
Monica Schwarze
