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THE
HISTORY OF NCAAW...
As
institutions of higher education entered the decade
of the 1980s, it became increasingly apparent
that existing efforts to reduce alcohol and drug
abuse on the campuses were not achieving the desired
results. Campus leaders continued to identify
the misuse of alcohol as a primary institutional
concern for the future success of the students
they served. In recognition of this growing concern,
a group of individuals gathered together to discuss
the ways higher education might more effectively
address the problems associated with alcohol abuse
and to create a more unified and effective approach
to building awareness and campus-wide support
for prevention programming.
The
original leaders in this effort included: Dennis
Roberts representing the American College Personnel
Association (ACPA); Tom Aceto of the National
Association of Student Personnel Administrators
(NASPA); Paul Oliaro from the Association of College
and University Housing Officers-International
(ACUHO-I); and Gerardo Gonzales, the Executive
Director of BACCHUS. Two of the BACCHUS board
members were also instrumental in this early effort.
They were Dr. Thomas Goodale, vice president for
student affairs at the University of Denver, and
Gary North, director of residence life at the
University of Illinois.
These
founding individuals formed an umbrella organization
that operates today as the Inter-Association Task
Force on Alcohol and Other Substance Abuse Issues
(IATF). The group held its first meeting in Gainesville,
Florida, in 1982. That original meeting was the
springboard for what has become a very far-reaching
organization. This task force was composed of
representatives from the following organizations:
The American College Personnel Association (ACPA),
The Associationof College and University Housing
Officers-International (ACUHO-I), the National
Association of Student Personnel Administrators
(NASPA), National Association of Campus Activities
(NACA), National Association of College and University
Residence Halls, Inc. (NACURH), the United States
Student Association (USSA), and BACCHUS of the
U.S., Inc. The IATF has grown into a coalition
of higher education associations and organizations
that seeks to eradicate the abuse of alcohol,
tobacco, legal and illegal drugs and other substances
among college students. It strives to inspire
students to review their lifestyles and make informed
decisions regarding these substances. The Task
Force supports teaching college students life
skills that will enable them to be successful
in college and afterwards.
Dr.
Edward Hammond, then vice president for student
affairs at the University of Louisville, now the
president of Fort Hays State University, emerged
as the driving force for NCAAW. Dr. Hammond has
served as the national chair of the event for
many years and continues to provide the vision
and leadership to expand the program on college
campuses across the United States and Canada.
With
the success of NCAAW, National Collegiate Drug
Awareness Week soon followed. In the 1990s, however,
NCDAW began to evolve away from an event exclusively
aimed at illicit drug awareness and prevention
and more toward a general “wellness”
focus. A decade ago, the IATF voted to officially
retire “Drug Awareness Week” in favor
of “National Collegiate Health and Wellness
Week.” The response was tremendous as schools
began to conduct focused educational programming
for a week each Spring on topics as diverse as
nutrition, exercise, drugs and alcohol, multiculturalism,
smoking, and any number of other topics. NCHWW
allowed schools to educate on the issues that
most impacted them. Today, many campuses plan
their own health and wellness fairs or community
fun runs/walks to celebrate NCHWW.
In
addition, the IATF sponsors awards to campuses
with outstanding NCAAW programs, promotes an NCAAW
student writing competition, periodically hosts
prevention symposiums, compiles reports on health
and safety issues, and consults with the alcohol
beverage industry to insure the most responsible
standards of marketing and product orientation.
NCAAW
continues to be the Task Force’s most widely
recognized event. When NCAAW first began, only
250 campuses were on the active participation
list. Now, more than 3,000 schools - from community
and technical colleges to major research universities
- participate to some extent each year! Today,
NCAAW stands proudly as the most widely celebrated
event in all of higher education. At the heart
of this successful effort is an army of committed
individuals on campuses throughout North America
who have identified the issue of student health
as one that deserves their hard work and expertise.
The
future of these events will be measured by the
ability of these individuals to bring to bear
all of the resources, efforts and energy necessary
to continue to keep the issue before the academic
community and the nation. |
