2008 Woodie Awards
Finding another way
Working hard to promote ways other than alcohol consumption
Jennifer Fraioli
Issue date: 2/23/06 Section: News
"It's natural to think that college students drink alcohol," Kate Trompetter said, "but if you get a large enough and loud enough group of people who say that it's not the norm to be out every weekend getting drunk, [programs like these] are effective."
Trompetter works for the Center for Human Services (CHS) in Modesto, and recently she and her co-worker, Nick Freitas, have taken on a new project: reduce the number of high school and college students who are drinking alcohol.
A year and a half ago, Stanislaus County received a three-year grant because they demonstrated the need to reduce underage and binge drinking in the community. The county then contracted with Stanislaus Behavioral Health Center (SBHC) to run the project and CHS to staff it.
"The whole idea is that Nick and I create a program that is active and self-sustaining," said Trompetter. "Recruiting students to run the events themselves and to be peer councilors will help."
While the group of people Trompetter and Freitas aim to focus on are between the ages of 12 and 25, the program will include different media campaigns to target different age groups. For example, the college campaign will focus more on "social norming", and how the majority of college students aren't drinking, even though peers and others think they are.
"We want to show alternatives before it becomes a problem," Trompetter said. That's why they've planned a substance-free Texas Hold-'Em night which they hosted on Feb. 22 at MJC. It's to be the first in a series of free Wednesday night events to promote healthy alternatives to drinking, much like Friday Night Live chapters in high schools.
Although Stanislaus State already has a substance-free program in place, they will also be affected by the grant money, and many high schools in the area will be given money to increase Friday Night Live chapters and their activities.
"We've gotten a lot of help from (the ASMJC President) and from Wendy Byrd, but we definitely need more help from MJC students to get this program up and running," said Trompetter. "We're all responsible, and I've become pretty passionate about this project. It's a really important subject, and it could become a big thing if more people get involved, especially college students themselves."
If you're interested in getting involved and becoming a peer councilor, you can contact Kate or Nick at CHS by calling 526-1476.
Trompetter works for the Center for Human Services (CHS) in Modesto, and recently she and her co-worker, Nick Freitas, have taken on a new project: reduce the number of high school and college students who are drinking alcohol.
A year and a half ago, Stanislaus County received a three-year grant because they demonstrated the need to reduce underage and binge drinking in the community. The county then contracted with Stanislaus Behavioral Health Center (SBHC) to run the project and CHS to staff it.
"The whole idea is that Nick and I create a program that is active and self-sustaining," said Trompetter. "Recruiting students to run the events themselves and to be peer councilors will help."
While the group of people Trompetter and Freitas aim to focus on are between the ages of 12 and 25, the program will include different media campaigns to target different age groups. For example, the college campaign will focus more on "social norming", and how the majority of college students aren't drinking, even though peers and others think they are.
"We want to show alternatives before it becomes a problem," Trompetter said. That's why they've planned a substance-free Texas Hold-'Em night which they hosted on Feb. 22 at MJC. It's to be the first in a series of free Wednesday night events to promote healthy alternatives to drinking, much like Friday Night Live chapters in high schools.
Although Stanislaus State already has a substance-free program in place, they will also be affected by the grant money, and many high schools in the area will be given money to increase Friday Night Live chapters and their activities.
"We've gotten a lot of help from (the ASMJC President) and from Wendy Byrd, but we definitely need more help from MJC students to get this program up and running," said Trompetter. "We're all responsible, and I've become pretty passionate about this project. It's a really important subject, and it could become a big thing if more people get involved, especially college students themselves."
If you're interested in getting involved and becoming a peer councilor, you can contact Kate or Nick at CHS by calling 526-1476.