The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Awareded CHOICES Grant To Promote Alcohol Awareness In Community
June 23, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - Developing peer education programs and media campaigns that promote alcohol awareness and healthy alternatives to alcohol consumption paid off for Ole Miss recently, when the University was one of 11 NCAA schools awarded a grant through the CHOICES program to increase alcohol-education on campus and in the community.
The grants, which total more than $300,000 to the 11 schools, are awarded on a three-year basis. Schools receiving the award include: Calvin College, Davis and Elkins College, Denison University, Humboldt State University, University of Iowa, Loras College, University of Mississippi, University of North Dakota, St. Bonaventure University, St. John Fisher College, and Winona State University.
"CHOICES is a great program that assists with promoting alcohol awareness," said Derek Horne, Assistant Athletics Director for Internal Affairs. "Through the CHAMPS program, we have tried to work on issues like this one to get our athletes involved in the community. This is another step in that and is a joint effort with the Dean of Students Office and other groups on campus. It's a great way to get our student-athletes to be a more active part of the University community."
According to Dr. Jeffery Hallam, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and the Director of the Center for Health Promotion and Health Behavior at the University of Mississippi, the goal of the program is to bring the perception of drinking on campus more in line with the reality.
"We're working to address the issue of alcohol use on campus and address the major misconceptions held about the use of alcohol on this campus," Hallam said. "There is a belief that there is a large binge drinking population on campus, and studies have shown that's just not true. We're trying to get the student-athletes involved with the Oxford and University community to see some decreases in the amount of underage drinking on campus."
Universities focused on a goal of addressing the issue of underage drinking and heavy alcohol use on campuses as the driving force in developing their programs. Schools will implement the awareness program through media campaigns, peer education in the community and on campus and other events.
Ole Miss developed a four-point plan in receiving the grant. The University will: implement a social norming strategy to provide accurate information to all students about drinking behaviors on campus; use advertising campaigns through the media to target the selected audience; implement announcements at athletic events, bulletin boards, ticket giveaways and other outlets; and develop the program around an alcohol-behavior study conducted on campus in 2000.
The NCAA awards the grants based on initial funding from the Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.