Undergraduate Student Government and Kent State Fraternity and Sorority Life came together to provide students with effective ways to manage alcohol April 19. The event was led by Billy Boulden, assistant dean of students for development and student learning, and director of sorority and fraternity engagement at Iowa State University.

Boulden spoke to students about how to support friends who are struggling with substance abuse, identify ways to educate others about the negative effects of alcohol and develop strategies to use alcohol in a responsible way.

“A lot of times people talk about alcohol prevention programs particularly with alcohol. People send a message like ‘don’t drink,’ or ‘abstinence is the only way,’” Boulden said. “While not drinking is the safest way to prevent unwanted consequences, that’s not reality for a lot of students.”

Boulden started off the event by asking the students in the audience to share their experiences with alcohol with each other. Multiple students answered this question in front of the audience sharing personal stories about family members suffering from alcohol abuse. This exercise set the precedent for the night, giving the students a glimpse of what Boulden had to offer.

“On the campus I worked at, I had a speaker that came and they were absolutely horrible,” Boulden said. “In my mind, I knew I could do so much better and I could go and have authentic conversations with people. Where we can talk about the negative effects and talk about how to make better choices, and I think we can get people to do that.”

To make the experience memorable for students, Boulden had students stand up and go to

various sides of the room to answer questions such as how much students drink, how much is too much and if they feel their friends make responsible decisions. The contrast between the number of students who agreed and disagreed with the questions got many students engaged with the program.

At the end of the presentation, Boulden asked the students to brainstorm their own ideas about how to improve drinking culture within their fraternities and sororities. He then pushed students to drink responsibly by measuring alcohol, taking responsibility for their actions and helping others.

“It’s about personal responsibility, and we can all make choices that are safer,” Boulden said.

Luke Trupo is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].