Summer is almost here on the Manchester College campus. During the break, scores of incoming first-time students and their parents visit campus for special Advising and Registration Days scheduled just for them – on June 6, 12, 19 or 27. (For details about these important visits, call the College, 800-852-3648.)

 

One session for parents focuses on alcohol and the first-year college student. It is important for parents and their student to talk about alcohol before the student arrives on campus next fall. They need to talk about the student’s plans regarding alcohol, the parents’ expectations, and the consequences (legal, physical, personal) of alcohol or drug use. 

 

The first six weeks of college are critical communication times for parents and their students, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism on its very informative website on college drinking at www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov. In a new environment without their parents and hometown friends, students may make poor choices regarding alcohol.

 

Parents need to stay connected with your student during those first six weeks: Call, e-mail, or visit to find out how things are going and your student’s activities. Ask about classes, friends, activities, social life, studying … and ask about the choices your student is making about peers and drinking. Homesick students tend to be particularly vulnerable to poor choices about alcohol.

 

Manchester College talks to all first-year students about alcohol, at first during fall orientation. That conversation will continue throughout their college experience, with the support of AACTION (Against Alcohol, Controlled substances, and Tobacco In Our Neighborhoods).  Each incoming student receives educational material about alcohol poisoning and safety. (See www.bacchusnetwork.org). Our goal is to assure the safety of our students who come to Manchester College for an education. 

 

AACTION grants help to provide alcohol education programs to Manchester College and greater community. The public is invited to “Moving forward with Regret,” a special program on Monday, Sept. 24 in Cordier Auditorium on campus. This is a follow-up to Regret, a public service film created in part by the families of college students Chris Mason and Sean Jamian. In 2005, Chris Mason died in a car crash involving alcohol. Driver Sean Jamian, who was released from jail this April, will talk about his life now. The Mason family will join the program.