Alexis Janda is the associate director of GW’s Center for Alcohol and other Drug Education. 

“What can students do to help their peers make better decisions about alcohol consumption?”

I’ve been asking myself this question more this year than I ever have before.

So far this year, more students are making choices resulting in them experiencing the extreme negative effects of alcohol than in most years. As the associate director of GW’s Center for Alcohol and other Drug Education, this worries me. And it should worry you too.

CADE shouldn’t be the only one to intervene. There are things you as students can do.

Watch out for your friends. Step up and say something when you see them downing drink after drink. Go to dinner with them before going out on the weekend. If you drink, always know where your drink came from. Participate in a George’s Heroes Bystander Intervention Training hosted by CADE. Do your part to intervene.

Some students reading this are probably thinking that all students drink and I should just accept it – there is really nothing we can do.

I refuse to accept that because it’s simply not true. There are many students that choose not to drink. But more importantly, many of the ones that do drink occasionally regret having been “that person” who had too much to drink, or they wake up the next day worried about what happened the night before because they cannot remember.

I can’t accept that those experiences are okay, and that I should do nothing while they continue to happen.

Alcohol use doesn’t have to result in something negative. I have dedicated my career to helping students learn how they can responsibly consume so that they don’t have to learn the hard way.

People in my field refer to the first six weeks of school as “the red zone” for a reason: During this time, students are more likely to take risks because they are making friends, learning a new environment and exposed to more opportunities to consume alcohol.

So some risky decisions are expected. But this year, our “red zone” has seemed to extend beyond six weeks and students are taking bigger risks and making choices with visibly negative consequences.

I can’t describe it in any other way than dangerous.

CADE is committed to providing information and resources to students and to providing a safe and private environment in which students can talk about their concerns regarding alcohol consumption.

As Halloween, another “red zone,” approaches, I hope that students take this message to heart. Please do what you can to think about the ramifications of your decisions in the next two weeks. And let us know what more we can do to help.