Fresno State’s Student Health and Counseling Center will launch a new alcohol awareness campaign, the nationwide College is RADD program, that features partnerships with local establishments giving students rewards for using designated drivers.
Old Town Saloon and Bobby Salazar’s in Clovis joined the campaign with Fresno State, said Georgianna Negron-Long, north Central Valley program coordinator and health educator at Fresno State’s Student Health and Counseling Center.
Established in 2009, the RADD program — “Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving” — is a California College DUI Awareness Project conducted in partnership with UC Irvine’s Health Education Center and funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week is Oct. 19-25. Fresno State is among several college campuses to join RADD, which is sponsored by the entertainment industry as its voice for road safety. The program promotes alcohol-free driving through RADD designated driver rewards and incentives such as discounts on food or free non-alcoholic beverages to those who show their RADD card.
Fresno State’s alcohol awareness campaign will be highlighted by the “Rock the Night” event from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, on the University Student Union balcony. The event was planned by student volunteers in the University’s Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Wellness Guides (DAAWGs) program.
“Mocktails” will be served and there will be a “Cash Cab Contest” where students can win prizes while increasing awareness of safe drinking behaviors.
“Our goal is to have students identify alternative ways to get home safely, understand the cost and consequences associated with DUI and of course learn about the RADD program,” Negron-Long said.
She said the program is still accepting partners, and she encourages local establishments to join in “helping ensure that college students exercise responsibility when they enjoy themselves at their locations.”
For more information, contact Long at 559.278.6712 or the Student Health and Counseling Center social media sites via www.fresnostate.edu/health.
(University Communications news intern Ashlie Day contributed to this report.)
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