One year ago, this group decided to make the campus wiser about the effects of having one too many drinks. When it started, its motif was, “BE Real, BE There, BE Aware.”

For 2014, BE Wise, a campus initiative striving to provide realistic steps for students to recognize and prevent alcohol poisoning, is looking to be even bigger. In the new year, BE Wise and its members are looking to revamp some of its programs and become a stronger presence both on and off campus.

“When it went live two years ago, the intent was to not let it disappear,” said Cory Wallack, the director of the counseling center, who also oversees the group’s operations. “For that to work we always have to be expanding, otherwise it will dry up.”

That expansion begins with recruiting new peer educators, said Taylor Trimarchi, an account supervisor for the campaign. The recruits’ main goal is to increase campus visibility by teaching students precautionary measures, which are “imperative to avoid the dangers of alcohol poisoning,” she said.

With assistance from the health and wellness promotions and the counseling center, the student group uses classroom demonstrations and seminars to teach safety tactics to help prevent damage from excessive alcohol consumption.

To meet the standards of a peer educator this semester, applicants are judged by their ability to work with others and clearly convey a message.

“We’re looking for people who are enthusiastic, but more importantly for people who are willing to become knowledgeable about the subject,” said Demi Douglas, a BE Wise account executive. “They need to be ready to develop those skills because it’s really about training people to inform others.”

An added goal to the BE Wise outreach this semester, along with the wave of new peer educators, is to exhibit “an explicit plan necessary for students to remain educated on how they can implement strategic drinking methods while out socializing and how to truly be safe,” Trimarchi added.

Last year the program won $60,000 after placing first in a national competition, based on how effective the website’s interactive designs and engaging lessons were. The contest was sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). BE Wise at Syracuse University beat the two runner-ups, University of Central Florida and the University of Tennessee, along with 27 other schools.

Douglas said the group is still allocating those funds. But Wallack said that plans to get information into the neighborhoods where students live are currently in the works.

He also envisions an expansion of the organization’s lessons to places like Armory Square and in some of the city’s transportation services, as students often use taxis to get to and from downtown. Wallack said the group also plans on work with Chuck’s Café again, where they handed out water and protein bars last semester.

Since launching a year ago, students have seemed increasingly responsive to the campaign, Douglas said. She and other members have recorded more people calling Syracuse University Ambulance for an ambulance because “they’re more aware of the signs [of alcohol poisoning] now, so people are calling when others need help.”

Team efforts to construct, implement and execute the BE Wise educational objectives has been instrumental in the success of the program. Working hand in hand with Hill Communications, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications student-run public relations firm, has helped develop and focus publicity to the student audience.

To continue an increase in awareness, two major areas of the BE Wise campaign will be targeted for improvement.

“This semester, a focus will be to structure and align our team as a public relations group,” Trimarchi said.

Peer educators, both established and newly recruited, will focus directly on students, while those involved with Hill Communications will be able to directly focus on publicity. By establishing a greater interaction between these two important components of BE Wise, the educating process an easier transition as the semester continues.

A second targeted focus is concentration on how BE Wise can directly benefit students for both short-term and long-term awareness and outreach.

“Something our team might look at is the reframing of certain ideas or restructuring our outreach methods in a different approach,” Trimarchi said.

Those involved with BE Wise hope that with another semester, it can be more successful at informing students about how to prevent alcohol poisoning, which affects students both at SU and across the country.

The BE Wise tagline says it all: “don’t make tonight a night that you’ll wish you could rewind tomorrow.”

 

Published on January 15, 2014 at 12:10 am

Contact Lauren: ljporter@syr.edu