Grant for spring break safety

This year's spring break planning may have been a little different for some students because of the warnings aimed at tourists headed to Mexico.

These travel warnings might have prompted more students to actually think about their safety while on vacation. On campus, SCSU Peer Educators conducted a safety awareness campaign the week before spring break to encourage students to stay safe and healthy on their spring break trips.

Peer Educators received a $500 grant for the first time through the North Central College Health Association (NCCHA). They used the money to create the Safer Spring Break Awareness Campaign.

"(We) purchased Safer Spring Break promotional items that were distributed to students at our various awareness booths and programs such as water bottles, sunscreen, ChapStick, condoms, Band-Aids, posters and brochures," Lee Zutz, treasurer of Peer Educators, said in an e-mail.

"I think they were excited to have a larger than 'normal' awareness campaign," Troy Shafer, Peer Educator Advisor, said in an e-mail. "I think they did a great job in a short amount of time."

Peer Educators' mission statement is, "Dedicated to increasing awareness in areas of health and wellness; encouraging safer behaviors and choices; encouraging positive healthy lifestyles, and promoting healthy minds and bodies," Shafer said.

There are other colleges that run safety awareness campaigns around spring break and can apply for the grant.

"Any college or university is eligible in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota," Zutz said.

The requirements to be eligible for the NCCHA grant include: the applicant's institution must be in good standing with NCCHA and have a project or program that relates to college health.

"It was primarily an awareness campaign with a lot of promotional items and it will continue throughout the semester," Shafer said.

The 12 members of Peer Educators are doing some post- spring break evaluating of the campaign.

"It is definitely an ongoing process throughout the rest of the school year. It is difficult to change behaviors, but we will focus on educating and increase awareness through various programs and outreach activities," Zutz said.

Peer Educators chose to do a spring break campaign because of NCCHA's schedule. They hold two meetings a year to review applications and the timing was best to do a spring break campaign.

According to the SCSU health services Web site, Peer Educators are, "A dynamic group of SCSU students who are involved in Health Education and Health Promotion activities around campus. They are responsible for programming, planning events, marketing and education around a variety of health issues concerning SCSU students. They are involved in planning for Alcohol Awareness Week, Sexual Responsibility Week, Great American Smokeout, World AIDS Day, etc."

Another event hosted by Peer Educators is a Health Fair it will be Wed. April 22 in Atwood it is free and open to the public.