Student-group training gets off to slow start

In an attempt to take a new approach to alcohol use and abuse on campus, student-group leaders will now have to attend a mandatory alcohol-intervention program.

More than 60 students gathered in Huntsman Hall yesterday for the fourth of eight one-hour presentations led by the Drug and Alcohol Resource Team.

The program -- nicknamed Say Something at Penn -- which is part of the University's revised alcohol policy, focuses on ways to identify and confront those with drug or alcohol problems.

Two students from every University-affiliated student group must attend one of the sessions before the Oct. 24 deadline.

Yesterday's session was the largest so far, but attendance has not been as high as expected.

Although some students said the program had the potential to be beneficial, others said they thought the new requirement is unnecessary.

"We're not really hoping that this program is going to completely change the culture here at Penn and that no one is ever going to get drunk and wake up with a hangover," DART President and College senior Abby Lipman said. "We're trying to just have people walk away from here and think to themselves, 'Wow, I know so-and-so, and they do drink a lot, and maybe that's not such a good thing.'"

The program featured a PowerPoint presentation, educational film and brief open-forum session.

"It's a nice gesture, but I think if you're concerned about your friend, you don't need a workshop to end up confronting them about it," said Nursing junior Jessica Schatz, who attended last night's presentation on behalf of the Equestrian Team and Student Nurses at Penn.

College senior Tracey Gilbert -- who attended on behalf of spoken-word group the Excelano Project -- said the presentation was not thorough enough to effectively address the issue.

"The presentation incorporated a lot of the textbook answers ... and really demonstrated how the ideal conversation might go with someone that you're worried about," Gilbert said. "I'm not sure that we really addressed issues that might really come up."

Although Gilbert said that the presentation is an important first step in an ongoing dialogue, she was unsure that the program targeted the right community.

"We don't drink together so it kind of didn't make sense for me to come representing the Excelano Project," Gilbert said. "It may be relevant for groups who throw parties or for sororities [and] fraternities."

Although many of the groups are more academic in nature, "they're all students and they're leaders on this campus, and so the more people who have this knowledge, the better," Lipman said.

DART reserved larger rooms for the final sessions in anticipation of the students who will wait until the last minute to fulfill the requirement.

Director of Alcohol Policy Initiatives Stephanie Ives expects that about 500 people will go through the program this semester.

Attendance will be enforced by groups' umbrella organizations.

The Student Activities Council could take away a group's status and funding if at least two members do not go through training and the group already has strikes against it from absences from SAC meetings.

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