With an apparent need to educate all incoming freshmen on dangers to avoid while attending their first year in college, Alicia Maya represented the new organization on campus called Bacchus and Gamma as she addressed these students on the importance of making “low-risk” choices as well as the potential problems or risk factors associated with alcohol abuse.

The Bacchus and Gamma Network deals with any issue involving “alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, as well as unhealthy sexual practices and other high-risk behaviors,” according to the organization’s mission statement. Beyond the mythological association with the Greek Goddess of Wine sharing the Bacchus name, the acronyms for the organization are as follows: Boosting Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students and Greeks Advocating Mature Management of Alcohol.

Maya said that the main goal for the organization right now is to get the word out to students before Christmas and to have students attending meetings. Bacchus and Gamma will hold its first peer education training in late January or early February for the students who have opted to join this organization. Once this training is complete, students will be speaking in meetings to various organizations on campus, promoting better choices to students on this campus as well as educating the future freshmen by speaking to high school seniors in order to prevent alcohol abuse before it starts.

“They can speak to high school students in order to avoid the bombardment they will feel when they start their freshmen year. We need to get that good decision-making in place or plant the seed before they get here because once they do, they make good choices,” said Maya.

This new program can help make a difference not only in the lives of students that are already here at UTM, but also those who have aspirations of being students at UTM or any other college.

One of the programs this organization will be involved with this year will be Red Ribbon Week, which is the most far-reaching and well-known drug prevention event in America with an estimated 80 million Americans participating in the events of this week, according to the DEA.

“The Weakley County School System is observing Red Ribbon Week from October 23 through October 27. UTM decided to be a part of this program with our focus gearing towards alcohol poisoning, which can happen from binge drinking,” said Maya. Binge drinking is the No. 1 alcohol-related problem on college campuses today with nearly half of college students being considered “binge drinkers,” according to a Bacchus and Gamma Fact Sheet.

On a similar note, the Counseling Center’s first Wednesday Forum is sharing a similar vision as the Bacchus and Gamma program. “Party Hearty Like A Smarty” is the title of the program with the hopes of informing students on how to have fun and stay safe in their extracurricular activities. Many of the skills discussed in this forum are shared with the Bacchus and Gamma organization. This forum will be held on September 20 at 12:15 p.m. sharp in room 125 in the UC, which is inside the cafeteria at the rear.

For those interested in attending a Bacchus and Gamma meeting, the meetings are scheduled for the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in room 229 in the UC. The first meeting will be held on September 12. Everyone is invited to attend the meetings in an effort to help with any problems or decisions dealing with alcohol abuse. For more information about the program, visit the national website at www.bacchusgamma.org.