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Recovery in the News
ETSU program to target alcohol and drug abuse: Counseling Center hopes to create Tennessee's first college recovery community
Adriel Duncan
East Tennesseean
February 5, 2007
For many college students, drinking and partying is like a rite of passage, one that marks the change from living at home with your parents to being a full-fledged adult, out on your own for the very first time.
One only has to log onto www.facebook.com to find pictures of inebriated students leering into the camera, taken during one of their most recent weekend escapades. So what's the big deal? "Learning to drink responsibly can be a part of the whole learning experience for those students who choose to drink," according to www.aboutcollege.com. "It is when binge drinking, drug abuse and alcoholism are present that a problem exists." For the students who become addicted to alcohol or drugs, the party is over.
"This is probably one of the worst if not the worst environments to live and work in if you are recovering from an addiction because of the general pervasive abuse," said Kim Bushore-Maki, coordinator of outreach programs for ETSU's Counseling Center and substance abuse prevention coordinator on campus.
"There is this perception that college is the time in your life where you should party and live it up and if you're someone who has an addiction and you can't do that, then how do you have fun?" Bushore-Maki said.
Bushore-Maki believes starting a collegiate recovery community is part of the answer. "The more I look into prevention and what works and what doesn't work, the more I come to the conclusion that prevention isn't just about encouraging students to drink less," she said. "It's also about changing the culture that supports high-risk drinking, and a program like this is part of that, it's one of the pieces to that puzzle."
"Addiction of alcohol and drugs is a problem on this campus," said senior Ashley Banks, a foreign language major. "A support community is a great idea because some people don't have the support from others so they continue hurting themselves."
While collegiate recovery communities are not a new idea, Bushore-Maki said that there are only about 10 collegiate recovery communities in the nation. "So far there's not a collegiate recovery community in Tennessee, so we would be breaking new ground if we got this thing up and going."
While ETSU's program is in its "infancy stage," Bushore-Maki said her goal for this semester is to identify people who would like to be a part of the recovery planning committee.
"The most instrumental folks who can be a part of that planning committee are people who are in recovery themselves, from an alcohol or drug addiction and would like to see a place on campus that's identified as supporting their recovery," she said.
Services offered by the program could include recovery support groups, academic support through academic counselors, and socials to provide students with an alcohol and drug-free social outlet.
While the program has already received support from the ETSU student affairs association, it would be up to the planning committee to decide which services ETSU will offer.
"The benefit of this community is obviously for the students in recovery, but I think there is a secondary benefit for those students who don't have an addiction who either don't want to or don't like to party," Bushore-Maki said. "The recovery community shows that you can be involved on this campus and have fun without being a big partier, so it's also helpful to non-addicted students to see that."
"I surely support the idea to help those who want to help themselves," Banks said. Bushore-Maki said, "After listening to students who have struggled with this kind of abuse, I just feel like we need to do something to support them. There is this misconception that if you have an addiction you are a bad person. I want to dispel that myth."
For more information or to be a part of this community, call the counseling center at 423-439-4841 or e-mail bushorem@etsu.edu. All inquiries will be kept confidential.
Copyright 2006 East Tennessean