Virtual bar serves up alcohol awareness

Alcohol 101 Plus is not the newest course in the SMU handbook – it is an interactive CD-ROM that informs students about the dangers of alcohol abuse.

Developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the CD includes a number of exercises that allow students to make decisions for virtual characters and see the consequences of their actions. Most of the characters are athletes, greek members, first-years or other “at-risk” students. One scenario involves a first-year who pressures her roommate to drink. Another shows an athlete at a victory party.

The Century Council created the first version of this software, Alcohol 101, in 1997, and SMU first used it in 1998. But John Sanger, director of SMU’s Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, said that although it is available, the center is not currently using it. Nevertheless, Sanger thinks the CD’s features are useful.

“There’s a lot of good information on the CD. There are several scenarios that give you the opportunity to make decisions,” he said. “There’s a scenario on alcohol poisoning, there’s one on drinking and driving. People get to make the decision, ‘Should I take the keys away from this person, or should I let them drive?'”

Another exercise shows the effects that various types and quantities of alcohol will have on the blood-alcohol concentration of males and females at any weight.

“There’s a virtual party and a virtual bar. You can go to the bar and get a drink,” Sanger said. “It tells you what your blood alcohol level is and what you might be feeling.”

When the virtual characters leave the bar, students also see the consequences of driving under the influence.

Students are skeptical that a virtual bar will teach them to stay sober. Few are aware of Alcohol 101, and even fewer have used it. First-year Trevor Lyon has never heard of it.

“I would look at it, but I doubt that it would be effective,” he said.

Nonetheless, more than a thousand universities and colleges have and use the program.

Pleased with the demand for Alcohol 101, the Century Council will soon release Alcohol 101 Plus, an improved version of the software. The CD is the work of a broad coalition of concerned parties. Leading American distillers provided financial support through the council. In addition to student focus groups and representatives from various colleges, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, BACCHUS and other organizations also contributed.

Although Sanger expected the software in January, he said that an overwhelming demand stalled distribution. He expects to receive Alcohol 101 Plus within the next few weeks, but he does not know how SMU will use it when it arrives.

“It just depends on what the differences are in the new one. We might find some new uses for it.”

In the past, SMU used the original program to educate staff and students during Alcohol Awareness Week. In addition, Sanger said the BACCHUS peer education group presented the program to some of the residence halls.

Some students doubt Alcohol 101 Plus will be effective. The majority of college students already know the facts presented in the CD from either experience or from classes like Wellness.

“I think it would be more like a game than actually helping prevent drinking,” first-year Meg Shipley said. “I think it would help to find the solution, but I don’t think it is the solution.”

For more information on Alcohol 101, visit http://www.smu.edu/alcoholeducation/alcohol101.html