BACCHUS Student Trustees Urge You to Consider Running for a BACCHUS Leadership Position

 By Sheldon Jackson and Courtney Diener, BACCHUS Student Trustees

Welcome to a new semester and new school year! We hope you had a great summer vacation. We are excited to see what activities and programs everyone is doing this fall semester. Currently, we are preparing for General Assembly in Orlando, FL, November 1-4, 2012. The theme this year is The Magic of Peer Education: Healthy Students, Healthy Campuses.

One thing we as Student Trustees want every BACCHUS peer educator to consider is running to be elected a member on the Student Advisory Committee or a Student Trustee. This is an amazing opportunity to be involved within The BACCHUS Network. Holding a student leadership position within The BACCHUS Network is truly a privilege and a honor. During a term in one of these positions, students will learn so much more about The BACCHUS Network and the way BACCHUS operates. If you become a member of the Student Advisory Committee, you will network with members in your BACCHUS area, with other members throughout the country, fellow SAC and the Student Trustees. The skills and experiences gained through these positions directly apply to your academic and career goals and provide you the opportunity to have an impact on both a regional and national level.

BACCHUS truly is a student run organization and, hopefully, a lot of students will run for either an SAC or a Student Trustee position. For more information about running for an SAC or a Student Trustee position, visit the BACCHUS website.

We hope everyone is as excited as we are with a new school year and even more excited for General Assembly.  Please contact us, Sheldon or Courtney if you have any questions about running for an office. We are happy to share our experiences with you.

Get Ahead This Summer

By Courtney Diener and Sheldon Jackson, BACCHUS Student Trustees

As warm weather and sunshine begins to grace our presence, you might be asking yourself the question, "What role does summer play for peer educators and advisors?"

The obvious answer is that summer is a great time for everyone to take time to relax. That means summer barbeques, getting some vitamin D from the sun (remember to wear sunblock) and maybe watching a game on television. But summer is also great time for your peer education groups to get ahead.

Summer is a great time to take inventory of your stock of peer education materials and to place orders for the supplies you will need in the fall. Summer is also a great time where your peer educators can work on recruitment of new peer educators for the fall. Some campuses host summer retreats where their peer educators can work on their presenting skills and building a solid team. Other campuses work on updating and improving scripts or programs. Even just familiarizing yourself with The BACCHUS Network websites and campaigns can prepare you to kick-start your peer education group into a great fall.

So this summer in between all the pool parties, walks in the park and outside fun, consider spending some time getting your peer education group ready for fall.

Check Out the BACCHUS Network Websites!

By Nelson Anderson (Area 4) and Katie Starry (Area 3)

bacchusnetwork.org

            It all starts here! Everything you ever wanted to know about BACCHUS can be found on this site. You can see new and successful programs that campuses in our area have created.  You can also find resources to use on your own campuses and tap into BACCHUS’ four annual health promotion toolkits, such as Safe Spring Break!

Tobaccofreeu.org

            Find all the resources needed to prevent tobacco use, increase cessation and create policy change for tobacco-free campuses on this website!

Smartersex.org

            Need facts, program ideas, and resources to create effective sexual health programs?  This website provides information, resources and tips to assist peer educators to help students keep the romance but be responsible with their sexual health choices.

Friendsdrivesober.org

            Want to have a positive impact and reduce impaired driving at your school? Check out this website with information regarding the prevention of drinking and driving and ways to encourage friends to take care of friends.

Follow Me and Everything Will Be Alright

By: R.J. Rangel, Area 6 SAC

Social media is a vital tool to reach college students. To reach out to peer educators across the nation, BACCHUS utilizes two of the largest social media sites in the world, Facebook and Twitter. By liking us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thebacchusnetwork and following us on Twitter @BACCHUSnetwork, you will be actively connected to BACCHUS. You will be in the know about BACCHUS health promotion campaigns, successful programs, new materials, and student leader training and conference opportunities. Get connected and stay connected with BACCHUS on Facebook and Twitter.

Peer Educator Recruitment Strategies

By Rakhi Agrawal (Area 11) and Jeanette Montoya (Area 2)

Like almost any collegiate campus organization, a peer health education group is only as powerful as the peer educators that are involved. Recruitment can be very time-consuming and require a lot of your resources, but once you develop a system, it can become very exciting for your group. Here are some recruitment strategies for you to consider:

Holding a kickoff event and having a presence at campus-wide events. Especially for new students, campus-wide events are the main way to survey and connect with different opportunities available on campus. While your group may not be the main focus of an open, large-scale campus event (orientation, activities fair, basketball game, etc.), it is still crucial that you be involved in some way, so that students are exposed to and become aware of your group. This is also the easiest way to reach a wide array of students as often, after the initial orientation period, students tend to attend these types of events less often. Even a table with a sign and an interest sheet can be sufficient—just as long as you have a plan to follow-up with students afterwards, and they have something to take away from your table—whether that be something physical (a free giveaway or a flyer advertising your next meeting) or just a clear understanding of what purpose your group serves on campus.

Leading with a carrot and incentivizing your group to potential peer educators! No matter how invested students might be in your group’s mission, having a rewards system or offering incentives for involvement can be key to retention of members. These incentives can be big or small, but always have your information attached to it. Incentivizing will create an easy way for students who are interested to contact you for further involvement.

Examples:

Rakhi (Area 11): At my school, the new student orientation program hosts an activities fair for all incoming students. Our peer education group always has a table, and we draw students to our table by giving away items directly related to our group—free stress balls, sleep masks, etc. This way, students have something to remember us by!

Jeanette (Area 2): Here on my campus, our peer health education group has a variety of incentives ranging from chapsticks, pens, highlighters, hand sanitizers, backpacks and etc. All of our incentives have our contact information embellished on them, so if any students have any questions, they have the information needed and are able to use the incentive at the same time.

Have various types and forms of programming. Know who your target group is. Remember all groups on campus are different and unique, therefore your approach may need to be tailored to each group. When recruiting from different groups, you can emphasize the part of your organization they may be more interested in. For an example: If you’re trying to recruit from the biology or kinesiology club you might emphasize the health and fitness aspect more.

Hold different forms of programming such as social events or educational programs. This will allow potential peers to see your organization in action and get a feel for what your group is really about. Schedule your events or programs on varied times and days. This will give the students the opportunity to become more active and involved.

Create a fan base. Create a place where interested students can find more information about your organization. Use the technology your students use. Who doesn't use Facebook or Twitter? Facebook and Twitter are a great way to advertise and promote your group. Your potential members can go on these websites to learn more about your organization and be able to get information on upcoming events. On Facebook, create an event page for your upcoming program and invite all the students on your friends list. This allows the students to respond whether they plan to attend and you will have a better idea of who will be there. Fan base websites will provide your students with current information and a way to stay updated.

These are just a few ideas. Remember holding a kickoff event can help get the word out about your organization and allow students to come see what your group is all about. Who doesn't like free stuff? Incentives are a good way for students to remember your organization. Programming is an important part. Remember whom you are targeting and emphasize what may interest them. And lastly, create a fan base. This will enable students to get the information they need and be able to stay current on upcoming events. Recruiting can be very time consuming, so manage your time well and set deadlines for your peer group. Have fun and good luck!

Want more? Check out Rewards and Recognition on Any Budget and Recruiting and Retaining Peer Educators

A Welcome from the 2012 BACCHUS Student Trustees

Welcome to a new semester and an exciting new year within BACCHUS. We hope that everything is going well in your schools as well as in your peer education groups. We want everyone to get super excited for your area conferences this Spring!

We would like to introduce ourselves. Courtney is a student at Bowling Green State University. She is studying Social Work and Education and served on the Student Advisory Committee last year, representing Area 7. Sheldon is a student at Frostburg State University. He is studying Law and Society and Political Science and served on the Student Advisory Committee representing Area 12. We are proud and honored to be serving as your Student Trustees this year.

Here is some information about what the Student Advisory Committee does for affiliates in their areas. In January, we met with the SAC’s that were elected at General Assembly in November. The SAC’s are really excited about working with you and we would like to help you understand how they can help assist your peer education groups. The SAC representatives for each area are the liaisons between the national office and all the affiliates in your area. If you need ideas for programming to implement in your group or if you any questions regarding any upcoming campaigns, please contact your SAC.

In addition to the SAC providing you information, it’s important to let your SAC representative know your thoughts about how the Network is doing. Your SAC is responsible for providing the national office with the student’s perspectives and they can’t do this without your input. If you feel that anything is important to the network, please let them know so that they can make the students voice be heard. We would also love to hear about the great programming that you are doing on your campus! Also please feel free to post on the Facebook National Page or email your SAC (area#sac@bacchusnetwork.org) to share some of the work that you are doing.

We encourage you to contact your representative with any questions and/or comments. Please feel free to contact either Courtney at courtneyd@bacchusnetwork.org or Sheldon at sheldonj@bacchusnetwork.org.

We hope that everyone has an amazing time at your area conference and we hope to hear about the work that you are doing on your campus throughout the year!

What is the Value of Membership in The BACCHUS Network?

By Kendra Loomis (Area 1) and Taylor Schwab (Area 12)

At the 2011 BACCHUS General Assembly in November, network delegates convened to vote on an amendment to the BACCHUS bylaws. As a result of the meeting, an affiliation fee for The BACCHUS Network was implemented, effective January 1, 2012, requiring affiliates to pay in order to remain in the network.

Is the affiliation fee really worth the $300 cost? Well, would you rather pay for the services provided individually, which could cost roughly $1200; or would you prefer to pay for the $300 affiliation fee, which provides numerous discounts and benefits?

Essentially, BACCHUS pays for itself. Benefits include: a discounted fee for the General Assembly, the Area Conference, and local trainings, as well as promotional materials (posters, material packets, pre-designed health campaigns, training kits, etc.). Not only will you receive the discounts, but also the benefits of BACCHUS far exceed the tangible merchandise. Some of the ways in which BACCHUS enriches lives includes providing a sense of community, motivating leadership, and fostering networking skills. As the affiliation fee deadline of March 30, 2012 approaches, we hope you see the value that BACCHUS has to offer. Click here to renew your membership.