Part two of drunk driving prevention campaign to kick off in fall
Released: May 19, 2008
For many students in college towns across the country, going out means closing the textbooks and opening a tab at their downtown watering hole of choice. For Wisconsinites, it’s no different. Unfortunately, a newly released federal study shows that in Wisconsin, adults 18 and older get behind the wheel under the influence more than in any other state. With the loss of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Professor P.B. Poorman to a drunk driver last summer, the issue of driving under the influence is on the minds of the campus community.
Every other year, the University of Wisconsin System conducts an alcohol and drug abuse survey on campuses statewide to determine student alcohol and drug usage patterns. The survey results support the federal data on impaired driving in Wisconsin. UW-Whitewater conducted another survey this year, aimed at evaluating student drunk driving attitudes and opinions. Results of both surveys have provided a basis for a factually-based, socially-driven drunk driving prevention media campaign set to hit the UW-Whitewater campus in the fall.
The surveys are part of the UW-Whitewater Drunk Driving Prevention Campaign, a two-part project funded by a $3,500 grant from the University of Wisconsin System awarded to Amy Margulies, coordinator of the Student and Employee Assistance Program.
“With this media campaign we hope to alert people to the ever-present concern of drunk driving, while informing the campus community of what students at UW-Whitewater really think about drunk driving,” said Margulies. “This campaign will use survey data to convey to students what their peers’ attitudes are, how they can make plans to avoid drunk driving and what some of the consequences of drunk driving are.”
The first part of the Drunk Driving Prevention Campaign took place on April 23 at a Drunk Driving Impact Panel where attendees were educated about the consequences of drunk driving first-hand. The panel consisted of a student who lost her leg from an accident with a drunk driver, Professor P.B. Poorman’s partner, a district attorney from Waukesha County and UW-Whitewater Police Chief Matt Kiederlen. Each panel participant shed light on the various effects drunk driving has on not only the driver, but also the victim and the community.
“Hearing the panel speak really helped listeners realize the level of impact that drunk driving can have on us all,” said Margulies. “Our campus has personally felt the tragic effects, and we hope this campaign will encourage people to plan ahead before a night out--instead of leaving it to chance.”
For additional information on the Drunk Driving Prevention Campaign, contact Margulies at 262-472-1305 or marguila@uww.edu.
- Katie Rankin,rankinkd12@uww.edu
