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Ninth Annual Summit To Offer 'Lifesaving' Advice

Sept. 5, 2014
SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt

 

To be a Bearkat lifesaver means more than literally saving lives; it can involve taking precautionary measures such as exercising good judgment or even being a designated driver.

You can be a Bearkat lifesaver without even realizing you are saving lives, according to Eddie Gisemba, coordinator for Sam Houston State University’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Initiative.

On Sept. 12, the ADAI will bring together experts from across campus for a series of workshops that will show students and community members less obvious ways you might help your peers for the ninth annual Alcohol and Drug Summit.

The free, daylong event will include sessions on alcohol laws, the costs associated with drinking, the pros/cons of the legalization of marijuana, alcohol poisoning, and how to be a good bystander.

Workshops, held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center, will be led by professionals, experts, and those who have experienced alcohol- and substance-related consequences.

Many of the sessions will be led by fellow students who know the social scene here best, according to Gisemba.

“With the ninth annual summit, we want participants to not only think about their decisions regarding alcohol and drugs but also about the people around them,” Gisemba said. “Being educated on substance abuse-related issues is important because even if you choose not to drink or use drugs there are people around you that will.

“It also seems that we all know someone whose alcohol or drug use has gotten out of hand; they’ve made the decision to drive drunk or engaged in risky behavior that puts the health, safety, and well-being of themselves or other people in jeopardy,” he said. “When these things happen we can all be ‘lifesavers.’ Sometimes the lifesaving decisions aren’t popular, but we all can play a role in reducing the negative impact of alcohol and drugs in our community.”

Learn how to "Be a Bearkat Lifesaver" during the 9th ADAI Alcohol and Drug Summit Friday (Sept. 12), from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the third floor of the LSC In addition to informative workshops, there will be door prizes, a free lunch and free T-shirts!

During the summit, the ADAI will also pilot its Screening and Brief Intervention program, a motivational interviewing method often used in counseling and judicial settings to address problematic alcohol use.

“The ADAI and Texans Standing Tall are doing some research to see if SBI can be effective if administered among college students as a preventive measure, that is, before an alcohol-related incident,” Gisemba said. “The SBI pilot is our trial run at equipping faculty and staff members on-campus with the skills needed to address potentially risky alcohol use among members of the SHSU community; it is designed to be non-confrontational or judgmental.

“In order to see if members of the SHSU community will be responsive to the SBI we’re having the pilot during the summit,” he said. “As a way of thanking them for helping try out the program, participants can provide us with a name, or nickname, and a graduation year, with which we will make them a personalized SHSU T-shirt.”

In addition, students can also take a “ride” on the drunk-driving simulator, sponsored by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Alcohol Awareness program.

All sessions, including the SBI pilot, will be available on a come-and-go basis, so students can attend presentations around their class schedule, and the ADAI works with many faculty members to ensure students can earn class and extra credit for attendance.

Students who attend the summit will receive a free lunch and will be eligible for a number of giveaways, T-shirts and other door prizes.

Volunteer opportunities are also available.

For more information on the ninth annual “Be a Bearkat Lifesaver” Alcohol and Drug Summit, or the ADAI, itself, contact Gisemba at 936.294.2228 or visit shsu.edu/dept/adai.

 

 

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