With St. Patrick’s Day coming up on Sunday, March 17, the offices of Student Conduct
and Housing and Residence Life are collaborating to promote safe, substance-free activities
for Ferris State University students.
The Office of Student Conduct provided funding to host fun and responsible programming in the residence hall facilities on Ferris’ Big Rapids campus on St. Patrick’s Day. Nicholas Campau, interim director of Student Conduct, envisions a fun, positive and safe on-campus atmosphere for students for that day.
“We want students to have fun, but to also do so safely,” he said. “This collaboration will provide funding for our halls to provide that safe and fun environment for those students who want to participate.”
Campau noted that a perception exists that drinking must be a part of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Through this collaborative effort, the university is eager to promote alternative ways to celebrate in a safer way. Campau noted a 2011 study at Ferris conducted by the National College Health Assessment.
The study showed:
- 64 percent of students choose to not drink at all at parties;
- 99 percent of students engage in “safe” drinking behaviors when they do choose to consume, and;
- 94 percent of students have four or fewer drinks while partying
Lisa Ortiz, assistant director of Residential Programs and Services, said that a number of university residence halls will be conducting a variety of St. Patrick’s Day-oriented activities, including: casino night, gaming night, making green milk shakes and more.
“Through this collaborative effort, our goal was to promote that we have programming through which our students can have fun in our residence halls, be creative, and do so in a fun and safe atmosphere,” Ortiz said.
Campau explained that the $2,000 of funding for this project was generated through drug and alcohol awareness classes completed by students.
“We are always encouraging students to make healthy choices and by providing funding for programming in our halls, we are allowing them to still enjoy themselves while being responsible,” he said.