Pennsylvania College of Technology has been chosen to receive a Governor's Highway Safety Award for the efforts made by the Penn College and Community Coalition to prevent alcohol abuse and underage drinking by students.
The College was selected to receive its award in the "Alcohol Highway Safety" category. Chris Smith, highway safety specialist for the Comprehensive Highway Safety Program and a member of the coalition, nominated the College for the award.
The coalition which includes staff and faculty of the College, as well as law-enforcement and local-government officials, landlords and leaders from the community was established in 1999 with the help of a mini-grant from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
Sharon Waters, director of career/academic support and counseling at Penn College, will accept the award on the College's behalf at the Governor's Highway Safety Conference in Camp Hill on Oct. 19.
In the nomination document, Smith noted the College, through the coalition, "has successfully tackled underage drinking and DUI concerns both on and off campus."
The group's many accomplishments have included:
- Developing "Parents! Read This!" an alcohol/underage drinking fact sheet for distribution to parents at freshman orientation in August 2000
- Offering two Alcohol Jeopardy Workshops at freshman orientation to discuss topics such as laws, binge drinking, peer pressure and general alcohol information
- Generating donations for prizes that were awarded at the Alcohol Jeopardy Workshops
- Participating in National Alcohol Screening Day in April 2000
- Sponsoring alcohol-related materials and events for Sexual Awareness Week in March 2000
- Sponsoring DUI-simulation activity during College Alcohol Awareness Week in October 2000, using a golf cart and "Fatal Vision" goggles. Hundreds of students participated in the activity.
- Continuing to offer "Alcohol 101," an interactive computer program, to various classes during alcohol-awareness events
- Sponsoring a panel presentation on underage-drinking law enforcement in June 2000 featuring participation by law-enforcement, local-government officials and landlords
"The consistency and determination of the Penn College Campus and Community Coalition makes it unique and worthy of a Governor's Highway Safety Award," the nomination document states.
This is the second Governor's Highway Safety Award received by Penn College. The previous award came in the "Safety Education" category for the College's support of Students Against Destructive Decisions conferences.