IUP substance abuse council meets

By Paul PaterraTRIBUNE-REVIEWSaturday, December 3, 2005
Since taking over as president at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in February, Tony Atwater has made a commitment to curbing substance abuse on campus.
Among those efforts is the formation of the IUP Commission on Substance Abuse, which had its first meeting Friday in Folger Hall at the 14,000-student campus in Indiana County.
"It was a result of my being sensitized as a new president that there was a small core of students in our student population that was handling alcohol irresponsibly and engaging in substance-abuse behaviors," Atwater said. "I felt it was appropriate for us to intervene."
More than 40 people from the university and community will serve on the commission. They represent a cross-section of the educational population from instructors to students, from campus administrators to borough and county officials.


It's chaired by Robert Ackerman, professor of sociology and director of the college's Mid-Atlantic Addiction Training Institute.
"The goal is to reduce alcohol and drug abuse, but at the same time, it's to do it in such a way that what you're really looking out for is the safety of your students," Ackerman said. "You need to keep in mind rather than saying you're stopping something, curbing it and pushing it down, what should emerge is how to have a safe environment for the other students."
Dan Reardon, a senior and nontraditional student, believes that can be done by paying attention to students' social lives.
"Find out what the students want and see if there's something they can offer other than what's being offered now to take up their time," Reardon said. "I think it is a time issue. When you have some free time, you don't want to sit around and do nothing. You want to let loose. You've got to provide something other than the bar scene. There's not a lot to do, you're in a rural community."
The commission will focus its efforts on studying and developing recommendations to combat excessive alcohol consumption and intoxication, curbing underage drinking, and reducing the incidents of public drunkenness and driving under the influence.
Various subcommittees have been created that will address issues such as current campus substance abuse programs, best practices and literature.
About a dozen students will be involved. Their participation is seen as pertinent.
"I think it's a really positive thing," said Megan Horst, a senior and Pan-Hellenic Council representative. "Usually, you just have people telling you what to do. If this comes from a cross-section of everyone, it might be apt to go through. People may deal with it better than it would be if it was just people dictating to you. We have a different ability to communicate with other students. We can talk more openly with what people want. "
"If you don't get the students involved, it's not going to be received and it's not going to go over very well," said Bill Sutton, Indiana Borough chief of police. "Everybody has to put aside personal agenda, students have to look at it as their safety and concerns for them as opposed to somebody looking to control their lives."
Atwater thinks the substance abuse commission can make a difference.
"We will not eliminate substance abuse at IUP, that's not a reasonable goal or objective to achieve," Atwater said. "But we can reduce the incidents, we can create awareness of consequences of substance abuse, and we can educate our student body."

December 05, 2005
Substance Abuse Claims Lottery Winners' Lives

Within five years after Mack W. Metcalf and his estranged wife, Virginia G. Merida, split a $34 million winning lottery ticket, both were dead -- him of complications due to alcoholism and her to a possible drug overdose. In a New York Times article, "Instant Millions Can't Halt Winners' Grim Slide" James Doa tells their tragic tale.
In 2003, three years after winning the lottery, Metcalf died at age 45 from his chronic alcoholism. On Nov. 23, 2005, Merida's body was found decomposing in her bed, authorities believe as a result of a drug overdose, proving once again that money and good fortune can't cure alcoholism and drug addiction.