Parents may worry about whether or not their kids will be safe when they send them to college. Vandal Health Education works with a variety of other resources — including the University of Idaho Counseling and Testing Center and the Moscow Police Department — in order to battle this fear and make sure UI students are safe, happy and healthy.
This year, Vandal Health Education applied for a grant from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association Board of Directors and the Idaho State Liquor Division to maintain their E-Checkup To Go program. E-Checkup To Go offers a way for students to monitor their use of alcohol, marijuana and tobacco. Vandal Health Education sends information about this program to every currently enrolled Vandal on their 21st birthday.
“(E-Checkup To Go) is an online, personalized feedback mechanism that students are now able to use for free,” said Jeneba Hoene, UI’s Alcohol and Other Drugs program coordinator. “Students can check in with their alcohol use and see where that puts them. They also receive resources specific to the University of Idaho. It’s consistently proven to be one of the most evidence-based and effective methods of helping keep our students safe.”
E-Checkup To Go is personalized for each university campus that decides to implement the program, providing students access to statistics about campus substance use and the perceptions students have that are specific to the university they attend.
“Students tend to overestimate by several percentage points. When people overestimate the amount that their peers are using, it leads to a culture that creates an invisible peer pressure,” Hoene said. “That’s something our office is really passionate about challenging, making sure we’re not promoting ‘This is a college campus, college people are going to drink, it’s a part of the culture,’ and recognizing that ‘Hey, 20 percent of our students don’t drink and that’s perfectly okay.’”
Vandal Health Education originally applied for and received this grant a few years ago. They decided to reapply this year so that they would not have to reallocate resources to continue funding E-Checkup To Go. The program had previously been funded by another grant but was in need of being renewed.
“(High risk) alcohol use on campuses remains a major public health concern, so it remains an ongoing initiative for campuses to be mindful and attentive to ways of they can engage students in conversation around their alcohol use in order to mitigate risk and reduce high risk behavior,” said Emily Tuschoff, director of health promotion at Vandal Health Education.
Tuschhoff added that it is common for people to only focus on the negative outcomes of alcohol use. She said she reminds students that it is important to know there are a wide range of resources and programs available for prevention, intervention and cessation of risky behaviors.
“This is one initiative. There are many others all the way from prevention and intervention by the counseling center, enforcing rules and procedures done by the Dean of Students Office, Security and the Moscow Police,” Tuschhoff said. “It’s all part of the holistic view of how we approach reducing high risk behavior on campus.”
While Vandal Health Education only sends information about the program for students who are turning 21, E-Checkup To Go is available online for free for all students to use. E-Checkup To Go can be found on the Vandal Health Education page of the University of Idaho website underneath the tabs “Live Well,” “Physical Health,” “Substance Use” and “Assess your Use.” There is a direct link to recovery resources on the page.