The Student Affairs Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Task Force has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Governor's Highway Safety Board for a one-semester alcohol awareness program called No Regrets. The Dean of Student Affairs Office is providing matching funds.

The No Regrets program targets first-year students – the most likely to develop problems with alcohol and other drugs – living in campus housing. It is intended to head off alcohol-related problems before they begin.

“There is concern on every college campus about kids off on their own for the first time,” says Nancy Quattrocchi, director of Health Services. “The issues often arise in the first semester. In fact, they most often show up in the first two months.”

With that in mind, the project team started their outreach efforts at orientation programs last June, when they introduced parents to the University’s student code and explained drug and alcohol policies. More information was disseminated to parents at Family Day on Oct. 1.

Outreach to parents is one of four critical areas the project addresses. The message will be delivered directly to first-year residential students through a semester-long array of programs. The first, a beer party (with root beer), provided students with a lounge-like setting where music was interrupted periodically with alcohol-awareness messages.

No Regrets is also enlisting the help of faculty. A new brochure contains practical information about how to identify and interact with a student who may have an alcohol-related problem, and a summary of the campus resources available to help them.

The fourth component of No Regrets is to seek the involvement of the community. Project representatives will be meeting with owners of local establishments selling alcohol, encouraging them not to serve under-age drinkers. In addition, the Lowell Police Department will join University Police to meet with students and make sure they understand the potential legal repercussions of alcohol abuse.

The project will be directed by Ann Marie Ciaraldi, director of Student Development and Campus Conduct; Nicole Champagne, assistant professor of Community Health Education, and Quattrocchi.  Ciaraldi and Quattrocchi are co-directors of the AOD Task Force. The half-time project coordinator is Susan Pulido, a recent graduate of the School of Health and Environment.