Sept. 7: New student mixer
OPT4 student organization plans alternative events for students
11 a.m., Sept. 6, 2012--The registered student organization OPT4 will organize several events for University of Delaware students to promote safe decision-making and provide an alternative to drinking this year.
The first event, a new student mixer, will be held from 6-9 p.m., on Friday, Sept. 7, on the Independence turf field on Laird Campus.
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June 5: Blue Hen 5K
June 6-9: Food and culture series
All new students can attend the mixer, called First Friday Fun, and come and go as they please. At the event, attendees can tie-dye T-shirts, drink mocktails, visit a caricature artist, listen to DJ Amaze and enjoy free food.
OPT4 consists of students who promote safe decision-making amongst their peers by encouraging students to attend activities and join clubs. Student Wellness and Health Promotion provides additional funding and guidance to OPT4.
Junior Paulina Wiedmann, president of OPT4, said, “We come up with events for students to participate in on heavy drinking nights.”
Wiedmann notes that OPT4 is not necessarily an anti-drinking organization, rather the group tries to provide students with alternative events and activities so they can live fulfilling and healthy college lives.
“We want students to know about events on campus, get involved, meet other people and have a good experience at college,” said Wiedmann.
Regina Phillips, outreach coordinator at Student Wellness and Health Promotion, acts as an adviser for OPT4. “The events promote that you can go out and do fun things with your friends without alcohol,” she said. “We also want to provide a fun, relaxed environment for students after a long week of classes.”
The next event thrown by OPT4 will be capture the flag, to be held on the Independence turf field on Oct. 5. Students can visit the Student Wellness and Health Promotion website for information on future events.
Funding for the new student mixer comes, in part, from the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant. The SPF-SIG is provided by the federal government to the state of Delaware to build a statewide infrastructure to address alcohol abuse.
About the grant
The Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant supports community efforts to prevent substance abuse.
Funding for this project has been provided by the Delaware Department for Health and Social Services, Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
The SPF is a five-step process assisting states in developing prevention plans and providing funding to communities to execute the plans.
Article by Kelley Bregenzer