GAMMA aims to reduce alcohol misuse
Kearney Hub
By Angelica Leicht, Hub Staff Writer
August 17, 2017
KEARNEY — Whether it’s a story about binge drinking injuries or cases of drunken sexual assault, much of the news about fraternities and sororities seems to stem from issues with alcohol abuse on college campuses.
Alcohol issues are a real problem not only for the Greek system, but for college students across the nation, and one student group at the University of Nebraska at Kearney aims to change that narrative.
Meet the UNK chapter of Greeks Advocating for the Mature Management of Alcohol, otherwise known as GAMMA. The national organization has been active on UNK’s campus since 2015 when it was pulled from a decade-long hibernation.
The group is focused on helping to reduce alcohol misuse and abuse by promoting responsible decision-making, awareness of alternatives, and enhancing communication within the academic community. While the organization is primarily made up of fraternity and sorority members, membership is open to any and all students on campus who have interest in the objective of the organization, Greek or otherwise.
“What’s great about GAMMA is that it’s student-ran, and they’re passionate about the changes that they’ve made,” GAMMA adviser Brooke Poppe said.
Those changes include the incorporation of a Safe Ride program and Bystander Intervention Training at UNK, which GAMMA and a number of other UNK groups helped organize.
Over the last couple of years, GAMMA has been making great strides in helping make campus life safer for all students. The group made up a large portion of the 350 UNK Greeks participating in last year’s Bystander Intervention Training, which focuses on issues such as hazing, consent and sexual assault.
The training, which is mandatory for first-year fraternity and sorority members at UNK, is an interactive educational seminar in which groups such as
GAMMA role-play how to identify dangerous social situations and how to properly intervene when necessary. Participants in the training take part in talks on issues with hazing, consent and what constitutes sexual assault — especially when alcohol consumption is involved. The program is part of a national push across college campuses to help eliminate some of the more prevalent issues with Greek organizations.
GAMMA members took over one of the chapter houses during the training. They set up an elaborate mock party where students witnessed ‘intoxicated’ partygoers trying to navigate the right way to handle peers in alcohol-related danger because such decisions could affect the rest of their lives.
While GAMMA is relatively new to the UNK campus, its work has already been making waves. It was lauded for its work on Bystander Intervention Training in May when it was awarded an Applauding Excellence Award.
Applauding Excellence Awards started in 2012 at UNK, and are given to recognize the work and meritorious efforts of student organizations and leaders. Students are nominated for the awards by other students or staff or faculty members.
“Collaboration between student organizations is imperative when planning extensive and critical programs,” the Applauding Excellence judges said in a news release.
“This spring, Fraternity and Sorority life hosted their second annual ‘Bystander Intervention’ training. This year was unique, as two student organizations, Order of Omega and Greeks Advocating for the Mature Management of Alcohol, partnered to make this year’s program much more engaging. Students from GAMMA and Order of Omega re-enacted scenes from parties and other social situations that involved alcohol and hazing. Attending students were guided through these scenes and received valuable knowledge by being able to see and identify situations first hand. The program’s objective was to give students confidence to intervene in a potentially dangerous situation.”
While GAMMA has earned recognition its work with alcohol education, the group isn’t limited to those issues. GAMMA has extended into educating students, faculty, administrators and staff about other issues that affect the campus, including AIDS, sexual assault, tobacco abuse and sexual behavior.
It’s also active in the Safe Ride program at UNK, which works with the UNK Peer Health Office, Kearney Cab Co. and other university counterparts to offer free rides back to campus for UNK students.
The program is open to all students and is mostly for students needing a ride back from bars or parties, which helps eliminate potential drunken driving issues for students.
“Our office partnered with the Buffalo County Community Partners, and four members of GAMMA were offered a big grant to get TIPS trained,” Poppe said.
TIPS — the global leader in education and training for the responsible service, sale, and consumption of alcohol — offers classes such as the ones the GAMMA officers took on how to prevent intoxication, underage drinking and drunken driving.
Now that four of the GAMMA officers are certified, they can train other UNK students on the TIPS system, which should help further educate others about responsible alcohol practices.
“Some of the GAMMA officers can now train other members on what they learned; it’s the same nationwide certification that bartenders and venues that serve alcohol get,” Poppe said.
GAMMA plans to continue its work on responsible alcohol practices this upcoming school year at UNK. Plans for Bystander Training and the Safe Ride program already are in the works.
“It’s awesome to find what the students are empowered about to make a change or stand up in a situation where students may otherwise be afraid to,” Poppe said.