Colleges' wellness efforts coming up short?

Parents Social Lounge
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<p>I've been a "lurker" on this forum for some time and have read some excellent insights, so I thought I'd throw this out there:</p>

<p>It seems that many colleges' efforts to support students choosing wellness lifestyles, while well-intentioned and sincere, don't necessarily take the approaches that would best serve those students. Many colleges provide piecemeal, college-directed approaches consisting of wellness or chem-free floors/living groups and events such as comedians and dance parties. This top-down approach doesn't engage wellness students in developing and guiding institutions and events as to be most beneficial to them; if anything, it assumes that standard alcohol-oriented mainstays, such as dance parties, can be made "dry" and then offered as a successful "wellness" event. As a wellness student myself, I sense that there may be differences in the values and attitudes of wellness students that may go overlooked by college administrations and residence life offices.</p>

<p>Has anyone else heard their students express similar thoughts or had such experiences firsthand? If so, what suggestions would you have for creating a stronger, more student-directed "wellness culture" on college campuses?</p>

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<p>It seems there was a parent here, who said her child was involved in planning some of this. I have no way of figuring who it was, but it seemed like a successful experience.</p>

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<p>Kid knows that his education has involved too much money and work. The college money was in an UGMA account and belongs to him. Blowing his education means he blows away his own money and financial security.</p>

<p>A school can only offer opportunities. The students will make their own decisions. Not much parents can do at this point, except to control the flow of money.</p>

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<p>When I read the title of this thread, I was thinking more along the lines of healthy food and promoting exercise. If you had a group of students interested in opportunities other than the university-produced ones, perhaps you should make some detailed suggestions or form a group to plan what you would like. When we toured colleges they were always touting how easy it is to form your own club and get university sponsorship money.</p>

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<p>treefrog,</p>

<p>I think I understand what you are looking for - a seat for students at the table where the “wellness” lifestyle is developed at your school. And perhaps that is where you should be contacting the administration official (may have different title at different schools) whose job is managing the wellness environment. Returning students do owe a bit to the school for providing a healthy alternative to the destructive lifestyle so readily available at most institutions. </p>

<p>To that end you should suggest a committee of a dozen or so student volunteers to work with that administration offical to develop the following year’s events and guidance for the incoming (and for that matter returning) class. </p>

<p>Now mind you there are going to be a diversity of opinions about what events should be offered as wellness events, as there are differences of taste in the student population. And while you may not think the substance free parties and comedians are your things, for some students it is the best preferred alternatives to the keggers and strip clubs.</p>

<p>You sound like you have some ideas that you should push. Most “wellness” administrators do want to serve the student population well because that is how they are successful in their mission. You just need to find a way to be a part of the solution.</p>

<p>Great leadership opportunity. Go for it.</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I appreciate them very much.</p>

<p>goaliedad, what you mention is exactly what I have in mind. Thank you for your encouragement! It’s funny you should mention a wellness administrator; I was just commenting earlier today how my college didn’t have such a position and could benefit from one. I’m currently in the process of organizing a committee of students to advise on wellness issues.</p>

<p>One helpful change could occur right at the start, during freshman orientation. I had an excellent orientation experience and still am friends with many people I met during orientation. However, one aspect really perplexed me: the message I received during the mandatory alcohol education session. I understand the college is striving to distribute advice that will ensure as many students’ safety as possible. To this end, I was advised how to keep my consumption within a “safe” zone if I were to drink. This advice was physically sound, but not legally sound as we were all underage and could face sanctions even if we were drinking “safely.” I left the talk confused by a mixed message. I would have found it helpful to hear advice on how to negotiate excessive drinking situations as a non-drinker.</p>

<p>I love my college, and have a very close group of friends and good rapport with my professors. However, I’ve observed a lot of behavior that crosses the line from social drinking to problematic. The social scene seems like it could do with more balance and variety. I’m trying to discern the cultural factors (yes, I did enjoy my introductory anthropology course very much!) that promote excessive drinking and how to counterbalance it as a student. I have a hunch that a student-centric, administration-supported wellness effort could help achieve these ends - or at least make a start?</p>

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<p>treefrog,</p>

<p>I wouldn’t be too sure that your campus doesn’t have an administrator whose job is wellness administration. I know that the large public U in our town has one whom I happen to be acquainted with. He is invisible to the students, but is in charge of setting policies with regards to things just like the talk you were given at your orientation. </p>

<p>Yes, I understand the issue from your position (I assume a non-drinker) of not being happy with the mixed message (don’t drink because you are not allowed to , but if you do so here is how to be responsible). It is the same message delivered here. </p>

<p>I’ve actually talked to him on the subject. His thinking on it is that with a mixed audience (drinkers, committed non-drinkers, and those who could go either way depending upon the social environment), he’d rather err on the side of having more kids drink, but with fewer incidents of alcohol poisoning (and potential death) because they are aware of what can go wrong in the party atmosphere. And (being in the south) there is a certain population that is offended by the position.</p>

<p>He looks at his job as a public health official, trying to minimize the worst of the damage from a social problem (substance abuse). I’m not taking a position on whether this is wrong or right, but just to let you know, it is a common way of handling things.</p>

<p>Now, I imagine if he could segregate his audience (drinkers, from non-drinkers, from ones who could go either way), he would deliver different messages to each. And while it would occur to most that you’d find the non-drinkers in a “substance-free” dorm where you could deliver a different message (and perhaps different social activities), in addition to the vast majority of non-drinkers, you will also find a significant population of the other 2 groups (drinkers, and those who could go either way) in a substance-free dorm. </p>

<p>Why do you ask? Unfortunately, some parents are either unaware of their children’s drinking status or are thinking that putting their drinker in a substance-free dorm, they will dry the kid out (not gonna happen). And there are parents who think putting their borderline (could go either way) kid in with the non-drinkers that it will keep them out of harm’s way (and sober) - not proven in my book. And unfortunately for universities, there is no star-chamber that you can put these kids in to filter out those who shouldn’t be in the substance-free dorm.</p>

<p>This being said, there isn’t a good reason why a different competing (with the drinking) culture developed in the substance-free dorms with different activities appealing to those who don’t need to drink fake beer to feel like they fit in. And there is no reason you shouldn’t promote those kinds of activities, marketing them to both the already sober and those who need a good reason not to be around the drinkers.</p>

<p>I think if you talk to the dorm folks about who developed the orientation talk about drinking, you should be directed to the person who deals with these policies on your campus. My guess is that you do have one there, but s/he is more of a policy person rather than an activities coordinator. That is who you need to find to start your effort.</p>

<p>And I think it is better that it is a student-driven effort. Students do know what types of activities are appealing to those who wish not to partake of the drinking culture. I think you will find a supporter in the administration official who decided on the “mixed message”, believe it or not. They really do want to support the non-drinking activities, but also don’t want to lose the vulnerable borderline kids by coming off as not understanding. You can serve a very useful purpose in the whole process. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Are you talking about “wellness” purely as a euphemism for “teetotaler,” or as a holistic health approach? If you were really interested, you could start a peer health education group that would focus on all aspects of wellness (body, mind, spirit), from, yes, drug/alcohol issues, to reproductive health, to stress and nutrition. I think every college should have a student-based group that does this. You’d need to find some kind of wellness administrator to advise you. You could run workshops, do poster campaigns, etc. I think there is a place for substance-free housing but it should be supplemented, and if you’re going to complain about it you might as well do something constructive.</p>

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<p>goaliedad: I appreciate your insights into how addressing the subject can put college officials between a rock and a hard place. Your comments also gave me a thought about who the “invisible” (to students) administrator determining alcohol policy at my college would be. I wouldn’t have necessarily considered talking to this person before, but, once our efforts get underway, our group definitely will.</p>

<p>The idea I’m developing is to create a centralized, readily visible and accessible location that caters to non-drinking students. That way, the freshman who would otherwise be holding the Solo cup full of Coke (but would rather not) knows they have another place to go. In being student directed and supported, it also would serve those students whose interest in wellness is theirs, not their parents’!</p>