In an effort to raise awareness about the deadly effects of binge drinking, Genesee Community College has launched the Red Watch Band campaign in conjunction with GCASA.
The Red Watch Band (RWB) campaign began as an initiative at Stony Brook University and is now a national alcohol intervention campaign. Its mission is to provide campus community members with the knowledge, awareness and skills to prevent student toxic drinking deaths and to promote a student culture of kindness, responsibility, compassion, and respect.
In June 2008, a Stony Brook University faculty member lost her son to acute alcohol overdose while he was finishing his freshman year away at college. Upon hearing this news, President Shirley Strum Kenny commissioned an education-awareness campaign on preventing drinking deaths on college campuses.
Alcohol and other drug specialists and student leaders at Stony Brook developed a comprehensive bystander intervention program offered to all students.
Genesee Community College's office of Student Activities, as well as the Health and Physical Education department have joined with GCASA to launch the Red Watch Band program that will provide students with the tools necessary to make healthier, potentially lifesaving decisions when it comes to alcohol use.
A training day for interested students will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12 in room T102.
The primary component of the program is a four-hour training session in which participants learn how to recognize alcohol emergencies and respond effectively. The training program will consist of two and half hours of CPR/AED training and one and a half hours of Alcohol Emergencies taught by Alcohol and Other Drugs Specialists. Participants will receive a free lunch during the training.
"We really want to coordinate an effort to educate our students on the perils of excessive drinking," said Cliff Scutella, director of Student Activities. "We want to inform students on what to do if someone they know has an alcohol overdose. Having this alcohol intervention training could mean the difference in someone living or dying."
For further information about the RWB campaign visit <http://www.redwatchband.org> or contact GCC's Student Activities office at 343-0055, ext. 6261.
