Recently launched to encourage safe consumption of alcohol among the student body, a new Dick's House-run online program called "AlcoholEdu" is being heavily promoted to the Class of 2006.
AlcoholEdu is a two- to three-hour-long program that "is designed to improve a person's knowledge, attitude and behavior towards alcohol," according to the program's website.
"Primary prevention is educating everyone who doesn't necessarily have alcohol problems yet to prevent problems and minimize alcohol abuse in the future," Dick's House Director Jack Turco said.
The program starts with a pre-assessment survey and ends with a final exam, which a student can either pass or fail.
Turco said that it is more important to him that students are actually taking the course than whether or not they are passing the post-assessment exam, and that the results of the test are not used in any sort of way to discipline or hurt the participant.
After completing the course, half of the participants will have a very brief follow up in six weeks and the other half in six months.
All first-year students finishing the AlcoholEdu program by the Fall Term will receive two movie passes that can be used at the Nugget Theatre. There will also be a weekly raffle -- with five winners each week -- for prizes throughout Fall term.
The prizes range from Dirt Cowboy Cafe coupons to $60 Dartmouth Co-op gift certificates, and all are are sponsored by local stores.
The College is spending $10,000 to allow students to gain access to this program.
So far, 154 freshman have registered, and 20 have completed the course.
Turco said 25 Dartmouth students pilot-tested the program last year and that he received positive feedback from the group, saying they would enthusiastically recommend the course to all first-year students. Its Internet-based format adds to the program's convenience, he said.
"Though we have other programs, it's very difficult to provide it to everyone, and one-on-one is impossible. However, the Internet gives you a chance to do that," he said.
Turco said that having students abstain from alcohol is not the point of this program. Rather, it should serve a similar purpose to a driver's education course, teaching students that alcohol is a drug and if used inappropriately, can cause problems.
He also said that exposing students to factual information about alcohol is part of a liberal-arts education. The "saddest thing would be to not know about it," Turco said.
Ideally, Turco said, alcohol permit cards could be issued to underage students upon completing the course, allowing them to buy and consume alcohol as long as they do not have any alcohol-related violations. This would be similar to receiving a driver's permit after successfully completing a driver's education course and then taken away if substance-abuse problems arise.
When asked why only freshmen were invited to take the course, Turco said that college is a whole new situation for freshmen and it's important to expose them early on in their careers.
He also thought that the program might be less able to convince upperclassmen. However, he said that any upperclassmen interested in taking the course could contact him to register.
AlcoholEdu was developed by Outside The Classroom, a privately-held company based in Newton, Mass.
"The content for AlcoholEdu was created by leading scientists, health educators and pharmacologists in the field of alcohol and alcohol abuse.
A total of over 15 experts from around the country contributed to the content and curriculum," Outside the Classroom's website stated.
At colleges such as Villanova University and Siena College, all freshmen are required to take this course.
