Alcoholics Anonymous is raising its profile on the SMU campus after an extended period of absence.
“The goal is to have a listed group that meets regularly on site at SMU that will continue to grow and hopefully provide additional days and times for meeting choice,” said Jan McCutchin, coordinator of alcohol drug and abuse prevention at the SMU Memorial Health Center, in an e-mail interview.
According to McCutchin, one of the advantages to the on campus meetings is that they are open, which means attendees do not have to admit they are alcoholics in order to participate. Meetings often include speakers who share their experiences with alcohol and recovery.
“You can come and hear what we say, and see if it’ll work for you,” said the anonymous student who spearheaded the program on campus. A first-year transfer student, her alcohol abuse began in high school. “I really didn’t think I had a problem,” she said. “I had people telling me I had problems, and I didn’t believe them.”
After graduating from an outpatient program, a counselor introduced her to McCutchin, and they worked together to get A.A. back at SMU.
A.A. was on campus for more than eight years with weekly meetings at the Canterbury House until a fire and construction on Daniel Street disrupted the meetings. According to McCutchin, the meetings were moved to the Neuhoff Catholic Center but were not as popular since many members moved to other meetings like the Preston Group at Preston Center.
The program focuses on taking each day at a time, abstaining from the first drink to promote complete sobriety.
The student hopes to make the meetings SMU-based, targeting faculty, staff and students. However, other members of the community are welcome to attend. McCutchin said part of the program’s appeal will be the support students will receive from people making the same changes in behavior as them. She anticipates local membership will help the program extend into the summer.
According to McCutchin, the Center for Drug Abuse and Alcohol Prevention has pulled funds to start up the meetings and has made grant applications to provide for start-up costs, which cover books, literature and coffee equipment. After initial funds are in place, A.A. is responsible for financially maintaining itself. Membership dues or fees are nonexistent, and A.A. does not seek or accept funds from nonmembers.
Senior art major Corrie Clark said, “I think it’s a good idea for them to come back on campus-because there’s a greater availability, people are more likely to go.”
Meetings are held on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the third floor of the Neuhoff Catholic Center. A comfortable setting, the room is complete with two sofas, table and chairs, TV and a fireplace. The anonymous student described the meetings as welcoming, “like a family community” where attendees can speak or simply listen without being judged.
Sober for six months, A.A. meetings are a part of the student’s everyday regimen. “For me, that’s a very important part of my life-I don’t want to go to where I was before,” she said. In addition to the SMU meetings, students can attend the Preston Group or Cornerstone. For more information on A.A. and other area meetings, see www.aadallas.org.
