As fall break rapidly approaches, students are anxiously focused on finishing midterms and other final assignments before they can relax. The Center for Health Education and Wellness, however, is currently focused on what students will be doing during fall break rather than how they’re currently performing on exams.
October is Substance Abuse Prevention Month, and through the entire month, the center is working to raise awareness about the risks associated with substance abuse and the ways that it can be prevented. On Monday, the center held their annual event Safe Fall Break, which aims to educate students about safe alcohol consumption and consent, among other topics, in order to ensure that students have a safe and healthy break from school.
Wellness Coordinator and event organizer Rebecca Juarez explained the Center for Health Education and Wellness’ goal for Monday’s event.
“We want mostly for our students, for our community, to have fun but also to be safe and know how to make informed decisions around various different areas, such as alcohol, sexual health education, consent,” Juarez said.
Senior student and major Trey Klaas is a Vols to Vols Peer Health Educator and worked at Safe Fall Break. He offered a student’s perspective on the risk associated with fall break.
“Going back home for fall break, sometimes you can be out partying and we just want to make sure that students stay safe, whether they’re going home or staying in Knoxville, and whether they’re going to places where other forms of substance abuse may be more prevalent,” Klaas said.
He also emphasized that substance abuse is entirely preventable, and he explained how he hopes that Monday’s event communicated that to students.
“I think just knowing that a lot of it can be prevented, whether it’s through the social side of it, just making sure that the resources are there for them, that people don’t have to abuse substances and also just knowing all the health information surrounding it so that people are more likely to make better decisions than not,” Klaas said.
The event, which took place around the Whirlwind Statue on Pedestrian Walkway, was occupied by educational booths from the Dean of Students, Rec. Sports and more. One station held a demo on the amount of alcohol it takes to make one drink, and others gave away free condoms, as well as t-shirts and posters advertising the importance of consent, while educating students about each of their respective topics.
Juarez discussed the value of having these entities present at the event.
“They provide really critical support for our students to be able to get access to resources and other support,” Juarez said.
She stated that in addition to university organizations, community partners from throughout Knoxville were present at the event to help raise awareness about safe activities to do over fall break as well as opportunities for entertaining self-care and exercise.
For example, Navitat, the zip-lining company that operates out of Ijams, tabled at the event to inform students about their activities, which can be both entertaining and valuable to self-care, that are available to take part in at Ijams over fall break. Gracie Barra, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu company, also tabled at the event to inform students about their unconventional methods of exercise.
The Center for Health Education and Wellness will be having other events throughout October to raise awareness about substance abuse prevention.
