By Tre Shuttlesworth, Staff Writer
As part of activities for Alcohol Awareness Week, a mocktail event was hosted on Oct. 23 to provide alternate options to alcoholic mixed drinks and teach students safe drinking habits, outside of Degenstein Campus Center.
The event was coordinated by Charlie’s Coffeehouse and the Susquehanna Counseling Center and was free to Susquehanna students.
The wellness outreach coordinator, Richanne Sniezek, was responsible for organizing the mocktail event in addition to other activities organized by the Counseling Center.
Sniezek saw the mocktail event as successful and rewarding. “The mocktails with Charlie’s was so much fun. We had 140 students stop by for mocktails and to learn important information on ways to drink safely,” she said.
Sniezek hopes students can take useful advice from the event on strategies for safe drinking. “If you are going to drink, we want students to stay safe. Eat a good meal, drink water between drinks, know your limits, avoid hard alcohol or make your own mixed drink so you know how much alcohol is in it,” she continued.
She also recommended that students have a designated friend or group to look out for each other.
The Counseling Center’s graduate assistant Natalie Wittman also played an important role in organizing the programming for the week. Wittman was delighted with the results of the mocktail event and the collaboration with Charlie’s Coffeehouse.
“We are so grateful that they partnered with us as we believe it was a successful event. Whether the student themselves participated or they watched their friend, we believe they learned something and it made an impact,” Wittman said.
Throughout the alcohol awareness themed week, the Counseling Center organized several additional activities, such as the Health Hut at Charlie’s Coffeehouse, incorporation of alcohol awareness questions at Bot’s Tavern’s trivia night and a tailgate at the homecoming football game against Ursinus College.
The alcohol awareness campaign will conclude with an alcohol awareness contest through a Pennsylvania Liquor Board grant where students can submit creative promotional designs pertaining to one of the three subjects.
Submissions must focus on either the reduction of underage drinking, reduction of high-risk drinking behaviors or the advocation of responsible alcohol consumption by those of legal age. Each submission will be voted on by students at Susquehanna for five $500 prizes.
Wittman stated the goals of Alcohol Awareness Week were “to educate students on the risks of underage drinking, risks of binge drinking and how to consume alcohol responsibly if the student is of legal age.”
Charlie’s Coffeehouse is a student-run coffeehouse in Degenstein Campus Center that offers coffee-drink and other specialty drink options such as milkshakes, smoothies and lemonades. The coffeehouse also coordinates activities and entertainment throughout the week while featuring weekly events such as .25 cent wing night on Wednesdays and game night on Fridays.
The Susquehanna Counseling Center offers a wide range of services at no charge throughout the academic year for Susquehanna students.
In addition to offering services pertaining to alcohol and drug use, the counseling center offers fully confidential services that include individual and group counseling sessions, after-hours service via phone and outside referral services as well as special on-campus programs.
The Susquehanna counseling center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.