Students who have questions about alcohol use will soon be able to turn to a new resource -- the Dartmouth Alcohol Peer Advisors.
This group of 10 students just finished their year-long training session and will begin counseling students next fall.
Lisa Stigler '96, the Health Services administrative intern who spearheaded the program, said the idea began last summer.
The goal of the group is "to help disseminate information in a nonthreatening way and to establish a support system that has not been here in the past," said Monica Oberkofler '96, who is a member of DAPA.
Stigler said she worked with Assistant Coordinator of Peer Education Programs Bart Bingenheimer, Director of Health Resources Gabrielle Lucke and members of the Student Alcohol Education Network to develop the program.
Bingenheimer said DAPA will add another component to College alcohol education programs.
"Alcohol abuse education needs to stress both prevention and treatment and DAPA can help on both of those ends," he said. "They can help students who have progressed to alcoholism and need to get into some treatment."
"At the same time, DAPA can help those students who are not so far along and are just questioning how much they drink and their health. DAPA can help them make choices," he added.
DAPA member Peter Scheidt '97 said DAPA offers a student's perspective on alcohol issues and compliments the services Dick's House provides.
Matt Herman '98 added students often prefer to talk to their peers.
"We provide a student resource different from the counseling department since some students are hesitant to talk to administrators," he said.
Stigler said personal experiences with her friends' drinking inspired her to create this program.
"My goal came about by seeing friends develop drinking patterns over the years and I was concerned," she said. "I wanted to learn more about it myself and I would like to see the program grow to reach anyone else who has concerns."
Campus discussion about the College's alcohol policy also prompted Stigler to act.
Oberkofler said Stigler initiated the program "in the wake of all the discussion that centers around student alcohol use at Dartmouth."
The group had its first training sessions in the fall and they extended through Spring term.
"We've been training for the last three terms, organizing and recruiting people. Next fall, we're going to kick things off," Herman said.
"We had a series of workshops, eight sessions each two hours long and modeled after the [Sexual Abuse Peer Advisors] program," Stigler continued.
At each of the sessions, speakers from different departments at the College discussed the psychological and physiological effects of alcohol use, the role of alcohol at Dartmouth, drug use, resources and sexual assault, Stigler said.
Oberkofler said she feels confident she is well trained to assist others and will refer students if she cannot help.
Most DAPA members said they joined the organization because they had previous experiences, either personal or through an organization, with alcohol abuse.
Oberkofler said she joined DAPA because she "had some personal experiences knowing people who had problems with alcohol and liked the idea of a new support system."
