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About S.M.A.R.T.
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RN, MSN |
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Allis is the Director of Health Services and Kathy is a Registered Nurse here at Centre College. Both work in Parsons Health Center and advise the program.
The SMART peer education program (Students Monitoring Alcohol Responsibly Together) began in 2003. The students work diligently to promote responsible drinking choices on campus.
The SMART Peer educators receive 15 hours of training and function in a variety of ways. Some teach fun and interactive residence hall programs to freshmen, fraternities and sororities, or area schools. Others provide passive programming by creating table tents in the campus dining hall, writing stories for the campus newspaper or developing "stall stories", informative accounts posted in campus bathroom stalls. Additional projects include participation in Alcohol Awareness Week in October and Safe Spring Break in March.
To become a SMART peer, candidates must be willing to commit to seven hours a month and to model the behaviors they are required to teach—no use of illicit drugs, and low-risk use of alcohol, which translates into fewer than three drinks per occasion, spaced one hour apart.
"A number of students like to unwind from the demanding workload college presents with the help of alcohol or drugs. We could all easily identify people in our community who have problems due to their usage, such as practicing unsafe sex, vandalism, drunk driving or being too hung over to study or do well on a test," says Centre alumna Krista Nelson. "When the fun of 40-ounce challenges, beer pong tournaments, and split-a-fifth nights give way to blackouts … or trips to the hospital, we see the consequences of poor choices being made about drinking."
"One of the greatest things this group has accomplished is to start changing the perceptions of what norms are for Centre students," says Meg Fenton, an alumna from Louisville.
"It's a lot of fun, and a chance to make a difference," adds Chris Patton, an alumna from Nesbit, Mississippi.
*adapted from a news article on Centre's website, 2005
