Grant Aims to Reduce Dangerous Drinking

Millersville University was awarded a $50,000 Reducing Underage Drinking and Dangerous Drinking grant from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. MU's Center for Health Education and Promotion will use the funds to develop, implement and evaluate underage drinking and dangerous drinking campus-wide. CHEP will partner with university athletics, the police department and the APPLE Training Institute to distribute the grant.  

The APPLE Training Institute, a program of the University of Virginia, is designed for student-athletes to encourage their peers to make smart decisions and promote healthy lifestyles. MU's student-athletes will focus on promoting a Social Norms campaign that challenges the common media portrayal of college students' interest in reckless drinking, which is statistically inaccurate.  

[Link]The grant will also provide funding for some students and faculty to attend special events,including the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board conference and various programs on campus. Some of these programs include a homecoming pre-party event, a cash cab-style golf cart for students to grab rides to class while also learning about harm reduction and drinking behaviors and a spring break bash in the spring semester. 

Margo Thorwart, director of the Center for Health Education and Promotion at MU, says that the grant will "help to provide fun engagement opportunities to do something that's not engaging in drinking behaviors as well as educate on some of the harm reduction strategies that can be used if someone is choosing to go to a party or consume alcohol." 

The grant is part of CHEP's goal to implement safety on campus while promoting awareness of mental health and suicide prevention, healthy relationships, dating violence, and sexual assault prevention. Thorwart is working on acquiring grants for each aspect of CHEP's values. 

This program is funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; the content of this article may not represent the views of the PLCB.