The University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, was a gracious host to this administrator of the NCAA CHOICES Alcohol Education Grant Program this winter. The initial visit was slated for December, after the craziness at the end of the semester.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature intervened with one of the worst winter snowstorms Wisconsin has seen in years. But not to be deterred, Wisconsin-Whitewater set out to find an alternate date after the holidays. And on a cold day in February, I made my way to the Great Lakes region for a closer look at alcohol-abuse prevention on the front lines.

A key objective in the Whitewater program is to enhance the image of intercollegiate athletics within the campus and community by presenting athletics as a partner in alcohol and other drug education, and emphasizing "that the program must be of campus-wide benefit," so it will impact the entire campus environment. (This also is a central objective in the CHOICES grant guidelines.)

Throughout the day, I met with players from both student affairs and athletics intimately involved in the effort and motivated to provide me with feedback on the issue and their role in it. Wisconsin-Whitewater was one of 10 NCAA institutions to receive the first of the three-year CHOICES awards in 1998.

And despite a series of staff changes among their key project people, they have managed to carry out the objectives of the grant and provide the national program with some insights into what student-athletes and students in general want in the way of alcohol-abuse programming -- namely, ownership.

They have succeeded in making this "a collaborative effort of the university, using athletics as a role model and providing visibility for the program through athletics."

My eyes were opened wide during a luncheon meeting with student-athletes and coaches. The discussion had turned to one of the project objectives, which is to develop positive and educated role models (peer mentors) to provide alcohol and other drug education, mentoring and referral.

What caught me by surprise was the internal conflict I observed with the student-athletes who, although motivated toward involvement in alcohol-abuse prevention, felt awkward in a social setting when others called them out for any use of alcohol. This dilemma brought home once again the ongoing struggle we as a nation continue to experience regarding the "responsible use" of alcohol.

Despite their discomfort, those student-athletes continue to reach out to their peers on this issue in a number of ways.

One they are particularly proud of is the 21st birthday card greeting, wishing a safe celebration (see photo below). This strategy was born out of a couple's desire to take what they learned in the loss of their son, Brad, due to alcohol poisoning on his 21st birthday, and create something that would make a positive difference for other young people. It has been tested on other campuses and shown to be effective in reducing excessive alcohol consumption by the recipient on their birthdays.

We join Wisconsin-Whitewater in their wishes for safe birthday celebrations and throughout the lives of all students.

Mary Wilfert is NCAA program coordinator for health and safety.