Freshman alcohol training more enforced

In past years, freshmen might have blown off the required online exam about the dangers of alcohol.

But students could think twice about it if they want to enroll for classes in the spring.

For the last two years, the University has started to require freshmen to take AlcoholEdu for College — an informational tutorial in which students read about the effects of alcohol on the body and then take a short test to show they have understood the material.

Dean Blackburn, associate dean of students, said the University previously had a soft mandate for the survey where they strongly encouraged freshmen to take the test but didn’t require it.

“We previously used a different online program, and two years ago when we switched to AlcoholEdu and the company showed that the best results came from required completion by all first-year students, we then implemented the ‘hard mandate’ of required completion by a certain date,” he said.

Blackburn said students who do not fulfill the requirement will have their spring course registration held until they complete the survey.

UNC-CH is among several UNC-system schools that utilize the online test , including N.C. State University and East Carolina University.

ECU Assistant Counseling Director Bob Morphet said the school has been using the program since 2008 as part of an effort to instill good values in freshmen early on.

“We have a 75-minute session in orientation that covers alcohol and other drug issues, healthy lifestyle and relationship choices and diversity in a combined program using professional staff and (Orientation Ambassadors) utilizing multimedia with audience participation,” he said.

Freshman Jacob Pincus said he has not taken the survey yet because he figured he had learned everything about alcohol in programs prior to college such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.).

“I just didn’t really care for it and it didn’t say there was any punishment for it so I was like, ‘I’m not going to waste my time doing this. I think I know enough.’”

Pincus said now that he knows it is required he might complete the survey.

Freshman Cody Karns said he thought most of the facts presented were common knowledge.

“I don’t know if it really changed my perspectives or opinions on drinking,” he said.

Karns said it took him more than two hours to do and he failed the test the first time.

He thinks advice about drinking responsibly is good, but it can be overemphasized — something he didn’t think they did at the summer orientation session for freshmen.

“They kind of accepted the fact that we’re here, we’re going to go hard,” he said.

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