Monday, March 22, 2010

High-risk and underage drinking are common problems that affect college towns across the nation. Students, faculty and administrators, parents, campus neighbors, business owners and community officials all feel the effects of and have concerns about these issues. Yet, meaningful conversation among all parties can often be lacking.

To help facilitate this conversation, the University of North Carolina Wilmington is hosting an Underage Drinking Prevention Town Hall Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 29 at the Warwick Center. The event, titled "Speaking and Being Heard: A Student-Community Conversation," is part of a series of 2,000 Town Hall meetings on the topic being sponsored across the country by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is free and open to the public.

"We want to break down stereotypes and misconceptions between the students and the community and hear each other's concerns," said Rebecca Caldwell, UNCW's director of substance abuse and violence prevention. "Both groups share the same basic priorities: keeping students safe, helping students be good neighbors, and making sure students stay on the right side of the law."

The town hall format will feature a panel of students and a panel of community members who will express their perspectives, ask each other questions and engage with the audience through opinion polling and group discussion. The student panel will consist of a Student Government Association or Residence Hall Association member, a fraternity or sorority member and a substance abuse peer educator. The community panel will include members representing campus neighbors, the downtown business community, faculty, law enforcement and the medical community.

UNC Wilmington's substance abuse prevention has been recognized as a national model program, said Caldwell. She wants to inform the community of steps that are being taken to address the issue of underage drinking through peer education and other ongoing efforts.

"A very small number of students cause problems for their neighbors. Most students make really good choices and are concerned about how their behavior is perceived by others," she said. "We've made a very large commitment to this issue as a community and a campus, and we've made progress. Still, it's a persistent issue, as it is nationwide."

For more information about the Town Hall meeting, contact Crossroads, UNCW's substance abuse prevention program, at 910.962.4136.

The Town Hall event is co-sponsored by the Student Government Association, the Residence Hall Association, the Order of Omega, the Cape Fear Coalition for a Drug-Free Tomorrow, the University-Community Relations Task Force and the Chancellor's Council on Substance Abuse.

Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.962.7259 or fischettid@uncw.edu