ECU receives financial support from Pitt County ABC for alcohol education efforts
Left to right, Teresa Campbell, Pitt County ABC executive, presents a donation for ECU alcohol education efforts to ECU Dean of Students Lynn Roeder and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Virginia Hardy.
By Kelly Setzer
ECU News Services
East Carolina University will use a donation from the Pitt County Alcoholic Beverage Control toward efforts to educate students on the dangers of alcohol.
“What started with a $10,000 grant a few years ago has grown to $30,000 dollars in support for vital alcohol education programming on our campus,” said Lynn Roeder, dean of students at ECU. “Pitt County ABC’s support has transformed the university’s ability to provide consistent outreach, training and resources to combat the No. 1 health and safety issue on most college campuses. We are very thankful for their support.”
During the 2014-15 academic year, the financial gift will support two main initiatives: Alcohol EDU and the Pirate Dry Dock.
Alcohol EDU is an online education module required of all first-year ECU students. The training aims to reduce underage drinking by exposing students to the laws and consequences resulting from it, as well as to teach students about low-risk and high-risk drinking behaviors.
The Pirate Dry Dock is ECU’s new alcohol-free tailgating alternative for students, which began Aug. 30 for family weekend and continued Sept. 20 before the UNC game. More than 245 students participated in the first two tailgates, with another scheduled for Oct. 23.
ECU continues extensive campus-wide efforts to educate students about alcohol. “We are very appreciative of the longstanding relationship and financial support from the Pitt County ABC board,” said Virginia Hardy, vice chancellor for Student Affairs at ECU. “The partnership has allowed ECU and the Division of Student Affairs to successfully launch the Pirate Dry Dock tailgate series and educate thousands of first year student Pirates about the risks associated with underage drinking through the online module.”
Teresa Campbell, Pitt County ABC executive, presented the check to Roeder and Hardy on Oct. 14.
“Pitt County ABC believes deeply that proper education and training about alcohol consumption leads to decreased underage drinking and better decision making,” Campbell said. “We are proud to have increased our financial support for ECU’s efforts to keep students safe and informed. We hope to continue this partnership into the future.”