By Danny Deza
Students in search of more information about substance abuse will soon have another place to turn.
During the final weeks of Summer II, Northeastern’s Office of Student Affairs will finish assembling the Office of Prevention and Education at Northeastern (OPEN) in preparation for the fall semester, when it opens.
Replacing the Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs Education, OPEN will expand programming and use a more personalized approach to drug and alcohol education, assessment and referral. The office will also work closely with University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS) in hopes of becoming more approachable for students, said Amaura Kemmerer, who will be directing the office when it opens this fall.
“We are not getting rid of the Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs, we are just starting a whole new program,” Kemmerer said. “I felt strongly about not calling it ‘Alcohol and Other Drugs,’ and we wanted to create a name that was less threatening but still provide the same services.”
Kemmerer said she attempted to make OPEN procedures more personalized than those used in the Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs Education. Each student who is reported to the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSCCR) for drinking offenses will fill out cards that will compare the student’s drinking habits with those of the average Northeastern student, she said, before sitting down with an OPEN staff member to discuss those habits one-on-one. The cards include categories like how much a student drinks, how often and why.
In an e-mail to The News, Vice President for Student Affairs Ed Klotzbier said OPEN will serve many of the functions that the Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs Education previously covered.
“OPEN will be responsible for continued programming, prevention and campus-wide initiatives around alcohol and other drugs, and the coordination and sponsorship of activities such as Alcohol Awareness Week,” he said in the e-mail. “In addition, this office will be coordinating the outreach and education for incoming students regarding alcohol through a software program called e-chug.”
The move comes after former Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs Education Coordinator Chet Bowen left his position in the fall.
Although Bowen no longer works for the university, he said he feels the new approach will benefit students. Bowen said discussion about creating OPEN was underway when he left.
“I think that the new situation is ideal for the university and the way that the office is now run is perfect for Northeastern,” he said.
As OPEN’s new director, Kemmerer said she will apply her studies on unconventional alcohol and drug use prevention to OPEN. Starting in 2005, she acted as the assistant director of the OnTap Research Study at Northeastern, which was funded by a three-year grant from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
“My focus was on the grant and working on the OnTap program,” said Kemmerer, who manages an OPEN staff of three graduate assistants and is working toward hiring a full staff by the fall. “I knew the grant was coming to a close and I knew that the university wanted to enhance their efforts for drug education at the same time. So I knew that putting ideas together could really work best for my research and students at Northeastern.”
Kemmerer said OPEN is not meant to be counseling but more akin to “personalized feedback.” Although students might be sanctioned to use OPEN’s services after they are reported to OSCCR, she said the new program is not meant to be disciplinary against students but rather helpful for them. Students who are not reported to OSCCR are also encouraged to take advantage of OPEN’s services, she said.
Bowen said a personalized approach is the key to effectiveness when tackling alcohol and drug issues.
“I had a great experience and have moved on from the university but I am so happy to see where OPEN will go from here,” Bowen said.
Kemmerer said she is excited to watch OPEN grow once the office opens in 307 Ell Hall in the fall.
“This is only the beginning and we are working hard to get everything organized and in order,” she said. “We are working closely with student affairs to make this the best it can possibly be.”
