Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Alcohol awareness class numbers rise

Students seek dismissal of underage drinking citations

A new program offering students the chance to have their first underage drinking citation dismissed has seen an increase in participation.

“Within the first six weeks of school, numbers were already up by 45 people,” said University Police Chief Bob Roberts.

Offered through West Virginia University’s Carruth Center for Psychological and Psychiatric services, program informs students about alcohol and addiction, and the possible harms resulting from binge drinking.

“This isn’t a punitive program,” said John Spraggins, Student Assistance Program director at the Carruth Center. “We want people to understand addiction is a problem. No one wakes up and says, ‘I want to be an alcoholic.’”

The class is typically six sessions, and can be either one-on-one counseling or in groups of about three to five students. During the class, students could complete worksheets, watch videos or write papers.

“We do anything that we think might most effectively help that student,” Spraggins said. “We help them set goals and individualize it. Every student is different.”

The program stresses the fact, if a student is there, they were underage and drinking.

“They are breaking the law,” Spraggins said.

The program intends on helping students realize about 20 percent of the population has an alcohol problem affecting people between the ages 25 and 45 years old.

“Students think it’s just older people who have addictions, but it affects the younger generation,” Spraggins said.

Generally, students in the program are referred through courts or the Office of Student Judicial Affairs at WVU. Spraggins has been the director for 12 years and said there has been a very small percentage of repeat offenders in the class.

“No one thinks that down the road it could be a problem,” Spraggins said. “People just think it’s what they’re supposed to do in college, but some of the binge drinking behaviors can lead to addictions and can harm you in a pretty serious way.”

source: Daily Athenaeum

More Treatment & Detox Articles

The brain maintains language skills in spite of alcohol damage by drawing from other regions

Researchers know that alcoholism can damage the brain’s frontal lobes and cerebellum, regions involved in language processing. Nonetheless, alcoholics’ language skills appear to be relatively spared from alcohol’s damaging effects. New findings suggest the brain maintains language skills by drawing upon other systems that would normally be used to perform other tasks simultaneously. Prior neuroimaging….

Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol addiction can be simply defined as a habitual and uncontrollable need for the intake of a liquid that is derived from a fermented fruit, grain or some other natural material. These liquids include wine, beer, rum, or any other hard liquor. The intake of alcohol is termed as addiction when an individual craves strongly….

Sober statistics bear out the fact that our attitude to alcohol is deeply unhealthy

OPINION: ‘MILAN HAS banned the consumption and sale of alcohol to young teenagers in an effort to curb binge drinking,” said yesterday morning’s news as I staggered downstairs to make a cup of tea. “Parents of children under the age of 16 caught drinking wine or spirits will be liable to heavy fines of up….

Understanding what alcohol does to your body

The holiday season brings plenty of reasons to celebrate and with them the temptation to eat and, perhaps, drink a little more than is wise. As we all know but sometimes forget, drinking too much inevitably leads to headaches, loss of energy and generally feeling rotten. But there’s only one sure way to avoid a….

How Interventions Encourage Individuals Make the Decision to Get Help

The reality of drug or alcohol addiction is that the addiction is a disease that can ruin lives and ultimately kill the addict. When an individual is addicted to drugs or alcohol they are at risk of getting in trouble with the law, suffering medical problems, ruining relationships with their children or families, losing their….