University offers alcohol ed

New students under the age of 22 at the University of Kansas will have to complete a two-hour training course on the effects and dangers of alcohol.

The training is the latest in new initiatives undertaken by the university after two separate student deaths last Spring were connected to underage drinking.

On March 8, Jason Wren, a 19-year-old student from Littleton, Col., was found dead inside a fraternity house on the campus. His blood alcohol content was determined to be more than four times the legal limit.

Then in April, Dalton Eli Hawkins, an 18-year-old freshman from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, fell off the roof of a girls’ dorm after he had apparently been drinking.

Returning students say those deaths will have more impact than any computer session.

“I think having been here with those deaths, kinda put in the shock value of some stuff. I think it woke some people up, I think people are gonna be a lot more safe now.“ said sophomore Nick Raymond.

University leaders say the course is realistic. It assumes most students do drink, despite being underage.

It’s geared more towards letting young people know the effect alcohol has on their bodies and their decision-making abilities.

“It’s not, if you will, a message of abstinence, because, I think we are realistic that telling students not to drink at all probably isn’t as helpful as saying this is how you can be safe,“ said Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success. “By providing detailed information on the effects of alcohol in an easily accessible, interactive format, we hope to help students make wise choices while in school and throughout their lifetimes.“

Some already say that idea should be flunked. Students would have to log on for a two hour, interactive alcohol education program. The course for new students comes in two phases. The first will have to be completed by Sept. 24 and the second by Nov. 1. Incoming freshmen and other new students, about 5,000 in all, must complete the program this fall, or they won’t be allow to register for the spring semester.

But can a computer course do anything about the real-life temptations and problems of underage, binge drinking?

Many students acknowledge drinking is illegal for them, but say “it happens.“

Several KU students interviewed don’t think any university course would change their drinking decisions.

“I think it’s kind of pointless, because if kids want to drink they’re going to drink, no matter what,“ KU freshman Amy Trainor said.

“It still is up to us whether we’re going to drink or not drink,“ added Drew Bendell, another freshman.

We also asked outside professionals about the computer-based course.

“Every class I’ve ever taken, I’ve had questions. It’s pretty hard to ask a computer, hey wait, what do you mean by this or how did that affect you,“ said Todd Henre, a probation diversion monitor at Choices, an Olathe alcohol education center.

Henre recommends an in-person, rather than online session, especially if the education comes from someone who is surviving addiction. Henre said he knew he had a drinking problem when he was a teenager, and added, “I’ve been way there, and done more than that, yea.“

In May, the university announced it would begin notifying parents about alcohol or drug violations involving students 21 or younger.

The university also announced it would offer alcohol amnesty for anyone who calls in for medical assistance for themselves or a friend they fear may be suffering from alcohol poisoning.