Loyalist College and Community Partners Host Luau Evening for Students
By: Jennifer Bowman, 2nd-year Student, Journalism – Online, Print and Broadcast
The Shark Tank Pub at Loyalist College was filled with laughing, talking and cheering as students and staff raced about with coconuts stuck between their knees and faced off in mocktail pong on the evening of January 26th.
It was a luau that drew students together from different programs for an evening of Hawaiian fun, complete with grass skirts, leis, and tropical drinks. And — there was no alcohol.
Daniel Gauthier, a second-year Television and New Media Production student, came to the event with a friend. “I’m leaving knowing I can have fun with my friends without drinking,” said Daniel.
That’s exactly what the purpose of the evening was.
“Our main goal is to show participants that you can have fun without alcohol,” said Jean Terhaar, a public health nurse and a member of the Responsible Drinking Committee that organized the event. “We’re not saying don’t drink. We’re saying drink responsibly.”
The committee is a community partnership between Loyalist Student Success Services, the Loyalist Student Government, the Public Health Unit, the Sexual Assault Centre, and Quinte Healthcare (The Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Response Program). For the past four years, the committee has put together a responsible drinking event.
“I want people to have a really good time and enjoy themselves,” said Britania Tremblay, a member of the Student Government and mocktail bartender. “I hope people enjoy their evening, make new friends and realize that it was all possible without alcohol.”
Over the past two years, the committee has relied heavily on student input for the event. This year’s luau theme included games such as a limbo event, mocktail pong played with fatal vision glasses, a hula event and coconut races. The evening was highlighted by Sloshed, a virtual game developed by Infinite Spaces, Loyalist’s Virtual World Design Centre.
“Sloshed was created to underscore the effect of binge drinking, and the way that peer behaviour effects us,” said Ken Hudson, Managing Director of Infinite Spaces. “It was developed with the cooperation of the Hastings and Prince Edward County Health Unit and is intended to demonstrate these effects in a fun and entertaining manner. The message of the game is that binge drinking can be destructive and lead to unintended consequences.”
The video game will be linked to a Facebook page the committee plans to launch on the negative consequences of binge drinking. It is also accessible at sloshedthegame.ca.
“I thought the evening was great,” said Theresa Carr, an Early Childhood Education student at Loyalist. “It was a good way to get to know people and send an important message at the same time.”
