DRUG AND ALCOHOL AWARENESS WEEK

  ROSEMONT COLLEGE 

ATHLETICS

April 3, 2008

CONTACT:     Jami Hughes, Sports Information Director                     Amy Frankenstein

                        Rosemont College Athletics                                          PAC Commissioner

                        Phone: 610-527-0200 x2360                                       Phone: 610-361-5344

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

ROSEMONT HOLDS DRUG AND ALCOHOL AWARENESS WEEK

ROSEMONT, Pa- Year after year, colleges and athletic departments look for new and innovative ways to educate on drug and alcohol use. This year, the Rosemont College Athletic Department along with Rosemont Alcohol and Drug Awareness Resource (RADAR) in accordance with the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) drug and alcohol education initiative put together the Rosemont Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week. The week is an interactive drug and alcohol education campaign geared towards student-athletes. Over the week of March 10^th, the five teams from the department were asked to participate in alcohol and drug screenings, Quizzo, Drug and Alcohol Family Feud, and attend a speaking engagement. 

In addition to the events, the week also became a competition between the teams. Due to numbers disparity, some teams were grouped together like softball and volleyball and basketball and tennis. The teams were given points based on their level of participation and involvement.  The team with the most points at the end of the week was given a prize.

The week kicked off with guest speaker Richard Webster. Webster discussed positive alternatives to drugs and alcohol as well as about exciting the spirit. “He was really good speaker for us,” Athletic Trainer and program coordinator Suzanne Donaghue said. “The student-athletes were very interested and motivated by his speech.”

The next day, RADAR and coordinator Melinda Jansen hosted a Women and Alcohol Night. This event, set in the style of a family feud game show, put the teams against each other. They were quizzed on not only the information given to them from Webster’s speech, but also general questions on how alcohol affects women. As the week was also a competition, each team was asked to come dressed up in a theme. Softball and volleyball wore 1980’s attire, field hockey came dressed in Hawaiian gear, and tennis and basketball were Smurf blue.

Alcohol screenings and drug tests were next on the agenda. The screenings, sponsored by RADAR and run by Jansen, had the student athletes filling out alcohol surveys. Based on the answers, the student-athletes were informed whether or not their alcohol consumption was dangerous. In addition, optional counseling sessions were offered.  Also, as part of the NCAA Division III pilot drug testing program, random drug testing on 20 student-athletes was administered. 

Rounding out the week was Quizzo night. Set in game show format, the teams were quizzed on the information they had learned throughout the week as well as pop-culture. “Quizzo really showed how much the girls took from the week,” Rosemont Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president and program coordinator Kristy Bannon said. “They answered all the questions; it was great!”

Since it was also close to St. Patrick’s Day, the participants were asked to wear their green for points. The student-athletes came out in green droves. “Up to that night, it was a close race between field hockey and the softball and volleyball teams. But the field hockey team came to Quizzo in a lot of green! Girls were even wearing two pairs of undergarments!,” said Donaghue.

Ultimately it was the field hockey team that won. Their prize was an “alternative choice” night out at Dave and Buster’s in Philadelphia.       

Regardless of the competition and prize, the week was a success with over three quarters of the student-athlete population in attendance at one point or another. “Participation was amazing,” said Bannon. 

“I was excited at how involved the student-athletes were,” adds Donaghue. “Everyone really came out of the woodwork.”

To learn more about Rosemont Athletics please visit our website at https://iway.rosemont.edu/ics/Athletics/.