Alcohol and Other Drug Programs
Mission
The mission of the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Programs is to take a proactive approach to providing the education, prevention and counseling services necessary for students and the larger Hobart and William Smith community to make responsible choices concerning alcohol and other drugs.
Philosophy
The Office utilizes a social norms and harm reduction approach to reducing the negative consequences associated with substance use. Through the social norms approach, students receive current and accurate information regarding the norms at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Students are challenged to rethink their perceptions regarding how often and how muchtheir peers use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Thus, by correcting the overestimation of drinking, smoking and other drug use college students make the focus is on the positive behavior of the majority at the same time addressing the problem behavior of the minority.
In addition, the Office incorporates strategies that seek to maximize both the intellectual and social growth of students by using motivational methods to engage students to begin the process of exploring behaviors along a continuum of beneficial to harmful consequences.
The Office encourages an atmosphere that recognizes that no use is acceptable and will work with students to provide substance free alternative activities and housing accommodations. Support through counseling is available for students who are at risk of developing alcohol and other drug-related concerns, as well as those who are impacted by the secondary effects of another persons' use of substances.
Programs and services
A variety of prevention services are provided to the Hobart and William Smith Colleges community.
Peers Educating Peers (PEP)
PEP (Peers Educating Peers) are paid student mentors who work with the Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) to facilitate interactive programming with first and second-year students of the Colleges. The peer educators are responsible for presenting the actual norms to the HWS community. They produce and disseminate information on how to reduce at-risk behaviors associated with alcohol. The non-judgmental approach of the facilitators provides a forum to discuss what it means to be responsible when it involves alcohol. The student peers each present four to eight campus-wide presentations with likely audiences within the residence halls, theme houses and with student-athletes. There are two separate PEP programs students can get involved with. The traditional PEP focuses on the sophomore class, while the MVP-PEP program works with student-athletes. Students participating in the MVP-PEP must be student-athletes.
Those interested in becoming a PEP member should click on the PDF file and fill out the application online.
Counseling Services
The Office provides individual, couple and group counseling to all full-time students who are concerned about their own substance use or who are concerned about the substance use of a family member, friend, or significant other. Counseling services provides a safe and neutral place for students to express their concerns to a New York State Credentialed Substance Abuse Counselor. All counseling sessions are confidential and information cannot be released to a third party without prior consent. For faculty and staff who are concerned about a colleague or family member, the Office is available for consultation regarding what resources are available.
Substance Free Housing
This particular theme house consists of students who choose a living environment that is free from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Students living in substance free house work with the Office to provide alternative programming for the HWS community. Learn more about substance free housing.
Orientation
New students to HWS are exposed to a variety of positive messages through social programming, educational skits and novelty items in an attempt to get students thinking about the actual campus culture and how their choices impact their health and wellness.
First-Year Initiative (FYI)
This program focuses on first-year students to help them make the transition to college successfully. Programs are provided in the first month of the fall semester to all first-year residence hall floors. First-year students will have an opportunity to discuss ways they can transition to college without abusing alcohol or other drugs. The program engages students to think about the potential consequences of abusing substances and ways they can start to build community and stand up for their rights and resist being the recipient of secondary effects of another persons heavy drinking or other drug use.
AOD Seminar
The AOD Seminar is a two-hour educational group with an interactive format to get students to discuss and think about their choices. Students are exposed to actual norms regarding alcohol and marijuana and learn a variety of harm reduction techniques that give them the tools to socialize in a safe and responsible way.
Committee on Substance Abuse Education and Prevention Committee
Mission Statement
The Committee on Substance Abuse Education and Prevention (CSAEP) is an advising group of faculty, staff and students charged with the task of reviewingevery two years the Colleges’ Health and Safety Policies regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs within the HWS community.
Purpose
The Substance Abuse Education and Prevention committee provides suggestions and information to the HWS community in a proactive way to reduce the chance for risks associated with alcohol and other drugs. The overarching goal is the health and safety of the HWS community.
The CSAEP works with the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Programs to periodically review the Colleges’ prevention outreach, substance abuse counseling services and the policy pertaining to the alcohol and other drugs section in the Handbook of Community Standards, in order to determine gaps in services, areas for improvement, or changes necessary regarding institutional practices which might send confusing or mixed messages to the HWS community.
Staff
David A. Diana (diana@hws.edu), Associate Dean of Wellness and Director of Alcohol and Other Drug Programs. David is responsible for coordinating the wellness initiatives between the counseling center, health center and the office of alcohol and other drug programs. As director of alcohol and other drug programs he is responsible for the management of the prevention and counseling programs within the office. He has a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Dayton and is a New York State licensed mental health and a credentialed alcohol and substance abuse counselor.
Sarah B. Entenmann (entenmann@hws.edu), Assistant Director of Alcohol and Other Drug Programs coordinates the educational outreach programs working with faculty, residential education, Hobart and William Smith Deans to provide brief interventions to create an environment conducive to a healthy campus lifestyle. Prior to arriving at HWS, Sarah worked as the Retention Recruitment Coordinator at Home Instead Senior Care in Boston. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Hamilton College.
Elizabeth Tears (tears@hws.edu), Secretary, Alcohol and Other Drug Programs. Elizabeth greets students, faculty and staff as they visit the office. As the secretary, she is also responsible for maintaining office calendars, scheduling use of the conference room at 400 Pulteney Street, record keeping, research assistance and the overall flow of the office.
Office Information
The office is open Monday-Friday from 8:30am until 5pm and is located at 400 Pulteney Street. At the four way stop of Pulteney and St. Clair streets, take Pulteney Street toward the residence halls Jackson-Potter-Rees and Sherrill, our office is the blue house, on the right hand side, across from Sherrill Hall. Evening appointments are available by request. Contact the office by leaving a message in the confidential voice mail at ext. 3478 or emailing diana@hws.edu.
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