Substance-free living hasn't been a hit here

Teetotaling just isn't the fad anymore. In fact, it never really caught on at the University. Not enough students have been interested enough in substance-free living to live in designated substance-free rooms. "We've had a substance-free community for the past several years and we had at most about a dozen students participating," said Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone. In years past, those interested in the substance-free community were all housed on the same floor in High Rise East. This year, Simeone said, only two first-year students were interested. They were housed in Kings Court/English House. Tom Mottola, assistant director for upperclass programs in residences, said the lack of interest in the community may be due to a lack of adequate publicity on the part of Residential Living. But Simeone believes that the lack of interest has to do with the abundance of apartment-style residence halls on campus. "Students in apartments can choose their roommates and what types of behavior they choose to participate in," Simeone said yesterday. "There are many students who choose not to use substances but [do not necessarily choose] to live in a community that completely abstains." Simeone thinks campuses with fewer apartment-style residences might generate more interest in such a program. Alcohol and Drug Education Director Jo-Ann Zoll said the community, which she had a small part in starting, was a response to the requests of students "who want[ed] to live and learn in an environment where there was no smoking and no drinking." Interest in substance-free living varies from year to year, she said. If the community were to be restructured, Mottola said, more student interest might be piqued. "One of the things we've talked about is a 'wellness community' which would take a broader approach to the issue of health," Mottola said. A "wellness community," he said, would possibly incorporate fitness and eating well in addition to being substance free. An emphasis on those issues, he said, may "have more of an appeal to students."

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