Quiz shows, recreational activities and chances to win cash will be part of a new Mississippi State alcohol education program funded by a grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The university has been awarded a $9,760 CHOICES grant to implement a campus-wide "Bully Choices" alcohol-education program that centers around athletic events, said Dr. Bill Foster, dean of student services. The grant is underwritten by Anheuser-Busch Companies.
Mississippi State is among 15 institutions to receive the grant this year. To date, more than 37 institutions have been awarded more than $506,000.
"CHOICES is a grant program to encourage NCAA colleges and universities to implement and evaluate alcohol-education programs and to work toward the elimination of illegal and excessive consumption of alcohol on college campuses," Foster said.
Coordinated by the Department of Recreation and Intramural Sports, Bully Choices will involve continuing activities to help students learn to make responsible choices concerning alcohol, he explained.
"We want to educate students about the choices they have, to provide helpful information about alcohol and campus policies regarding alcohol, and to motivate them to remember the information," he said.
Activities will include a Freshman Round-Up, Bully Choices Quiz Shows, and a Most-of-the-Niter.
The Freshman Round-Up, held at the beginning of the fall semester, features activities such as a watermelon seed spitting contest, stick horse races, and a washers tossing contest. Members of the Mississippi State baseball and basketball teams will serve up IBC Root Beer, and students will receive alcohol-education brochures and non-alcoholic drink recipes, Foster said.
During halftimes of eight home basketball games, students will have a chance to compete for cash by answering questions publicized widely on campus about alcohol facts. Three students will be randomly selected to answer questions in each "Bully Choices Quiz," with an opportunity to earn $100 for a correct answer.
Alcohol-education messages also will be part of an end-of-the-year activity, "Most-of-the-Niter." Students participate in a variety of educational activities and have a chance to win prizes ranging from a bicycle to sunglasses.
"We want to reinforce alcohol education messages with events that are fun and show that there are alternatives to alcohol," Foster said.
The effectiveness of "Bully Choices" will be determined through pre- and post-surveys of students, the number of students attending events, and the number of students answering questions correctly, he said.
This World Wide Web version of MSU Memo was modified and updated by Chris Brown.
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Last modified: Friday, 14-Jun-2002 15:59:05 CDT.
URL: http://msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/msu_memo/1995/7-10-95/bully_ch.htm
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