March 29, 2024

SWCC Week 2017 highlights alcohol awareness

Next week is SWCC Week 2017 at the college’s Creston campus, and students can look forward to a variety of fun activities throughout.

For the first time, the college has decided to combine alcohol-awareness activities with its seventh annual SWCC Week. Alongside activities like 18 holes of “Twisted” putt-putt — in which students will use items like toilet seats or tennis rackets to putt — and a zombie escape room, students will learn about alcohol while making mocktails and participating in a drunk driving simulator.

“We do it every year,” said Southwestern Community College (SWCC) Director of Marketing and Enrollment Managing Terri Higgins, “and we try to vary the activities from year to year so the freshmen and sophomores are doing different things. We come together as a committee, and try to think of different activities that would build camaraderie in the student body.

“I think ‘Tricky Treating’ on Thursday night will be a highlight for everybody,” said Higgins. “It’ll be a scavenger hunt on campus, and students will operate as teams. They’ll go and do different activities from station to station, and receive text message notices.”

Fall classes for SWCC students began Aug. 23. Higgins hopes the activities will help SWCC students get to know each other as the academic year begins in earnest.

“The goal for SWCC Week is definitely to bring the campus community together,” said Higgins. “It’s to help the students feel welcome, and to help them settle into campus life.

“And for the Alcohol Awareness Week, we’re required to do certain activities with the students, so we consolidated them into the SWCC Week activities.”

Alcohol Awareness Week is part of SWCC’s preventative programming, as required by the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act.

As part of this act, SWCC has to certify it has implemented programs to prevent the abuse of alcohol, and use or distribution of illicit drugs on campus and as part of the college’s activities.

Tracey Evans, SWCC student activities coordinator, explains what she hopes the students will get out of the event.

“You know,” said Evans, “after ‘Tricky Treating,’ Jodi Haley of Zion Recovery Services, Inc. is going to give a short presentation about alcohol use, and drug use, and the effects of it on a young person’s mind and body.”

“And you hope they get the message,” said Evans, “You just hope they get the lesson, and be wise when it comes to that.”