Theta Eta Omicron fraternity brings awareness to substance abuse

by JESSICA HOLLAN
Assistant editor

​According to the Addiction Center, 80 percent of college students abuse alcohol, and according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), consequences of alcohol abuse in college include assault, sexual assault, injury, academic problems, health problems, suicide attempts, and death.

That’s why the Theta Eta Omicron fraternity focused one of their programs this year, known to the university as Save the Students, on educating TU students on alcohol, drug, and substance abuse.

Beginning in July, the fraternity began meeting with the Center for Athletics, Recreation, and Special Abilities (CARSA) to partner on the event, in addition to the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the local YMCA in order to host a fun event on the night of Nov. 15 in Osceola Theatre that offered many games and prizes as incentives for students who wanted to learn more.

“We wanted to present this information in a way that college students would actually retain the message,” Trent Dundore, the Omicron vice president, said. “It was our goal to implant the idea[s] of thinking before you drink, don’t be impaired while you drive, along with just don't abuse any sort of substance, because your life can change with one bad decision.”

The program offered students an opportunity to try their hand at many ‘drunken’ activities, shooting basketball, playing giant Connect Four, and performing standard inebriation tests while wearing goggles designed to give the illusion of drunkenness. At the Wheel of Misfortune, they answered questions on the consequences substance and alcohol abuse and guessed how many ounces of alcohol were in standard wine, beer, and shot glasses for prizes.

The Omicrons also offered a bar stocked with mock-tails (non-alcoholic versions of standard bar drinks) and a bartender, courtesy of the local YMCA.

The fraternity as a whole was ecstatic on the success of the program.

“Save the Students got [our] message across,” stated Dundore. “And we had over 100 people show up to this event.”

The takeaway for every student in attendance was a reminder that alcohol, drug, and substance abuse not only negatively effects your own life, but also brings danger into the lives of those around you.