Campus Life Council (CLC) debated ways to improve an alcohol education film for freshmen at its weekly meeting Monday afternoon.
Mara Trionfero, assessment and prevention counselor at the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education (OADE), said the video is OADE's latest attempt at successful alcohol education.
"We wanted everyone to have the same basics," she said. "There are students coming in as experienced drinkers and students who have never drank before but are curious.
Originally, freshmen were required to attend a discussion with student organization Peers Inspiring Listening, Learning and Responsible Socializing (PILLARS) during their first week of school. OADE moved the discussion back to the second semester and focused more on the initial experiences of freshmen after considering the overload of information students receive in their first few weeks, Trionfero said.
The First Year Studies program will require incoming students to watch the video on YouTube during the summer, Trionfero said.
"Our intent here is to provide the basic education, but we also want it to be a little cheesy," she said. "We want people to see some of the faces on campus and become familiar with some people and maybe say, ‘Hey, I know that person,' when they come to campus."
The twenty-minute film consists of multiple skits acted out by Notre Dame students, interspersed with need-to-know facts on alcohol education. Topics include Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) levels, the tolerance levels of females and males and the negative effects of alcohol on schoolwork, health and relationships.
Badin Rector Denise Lyon said information regarding the alcohol content of mixed drinks should be added to the video.
"Maybe a discussion of things like jungle juice — knowing exactly who made your drink, and how you don't know exactly how much alcohol is in there."
Faculty Senate representative Paul McGinn suggested displaying the mug shots of Notre Dame students who have been arrested.
"They need to know this is real and this does happen," he said.
One topic missing from the video is drinking situations that are specific to Notre Dame. Former student body president Catherine Soler said football game day drinking should be added.
"They should realize it's drinking all day long, that you could get kicked out of the game," she said. "There are things you may not know if you have never tailgated before."
Soler also said NDSP should be referenced in regards to possible consequences of drinking.
Father Pete McCormick, Rector of Keough Hall, said the overall production quality of the video should be improved.
"It needs to be a little higher production level," he said. "It's such an important topic — it deserves that."