Fresno State’s Student Health and Counseling Center spent last week attempting to educate students on the dangers of drug use.
National Drug and Alcohol Facts week is a national campaign in its sixth year organized by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The campaign aims to deliver scientific facts about drug use to young people through local events and activities.
“Basically, we were trying to break the myths and present the facts about drugs,” said Gina DeAmicis, a Peer Ambassador of Wellness said. “And that includes all drugs, even tobacco and alcohol ”” all of that is around us on a day-to-day, especially here with students.”
“We’re really always trying to promote awareness ”” mostly on social media ”” consistently throughout the week,” DeAmicis said. “Tuesday and Wednesday were the days we were out on campus.
The wellness ambassadors had a wheel that showed myths and facts. Students determine whether it was a myth or a fact.
At their booth Tuesday and Thursday, the student health and counseling center also asked participants to identify their “anti-drug” and write it on a sticker.
The rest of the week was spent doing outreach through local television, social media and through fliers.
Using data from the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II survey that Fresno State students were invited to complete during the spring 2015 semester, the student health and counseling center also had posters made to distribute around campus.
“We take that data and we actually go out to a graphic design class, and they come up with the concept as part of a class project,” said Georgianna Negron-Long, a health educator at the Student Health and Counseling Center. “It’s another grassroots effort ”” we’re really big on those grassroots efforts of having students come up with the concepts of how to deliver the message.”
The center also wants to support students who are currently in recovery from substance abuse, noting that students in recovery have a particularly difficult time participating in social activities.
“We have to always fight with the community culture also,” Negron-Long said. “There’s a community culture out there of, ‘there isn’t really anything you can do that doesn’t involve alcohol.’”
