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PITTSBURG —
There were some surprised Gorillas at the annual meeting of BACCHUS Peer Education Network, held Nov. 2-6 at Reston, Va., near Washington, D.C.
Gorillas in Your Midst, peer health education group at Pittsburg State University received the national award for Outstanding Creativity in Tobacco Control Programming for an anti-tobacco campaign it conducted on campus in 2010.
Ten group members attended the three-day conference, and only one of them knew about the award in advance.
“I knew, because I submitted the application,” said Sarah Duffy, who organized the winning entry with Jonna Fearmonti. “If we didn’t win, I didn’t want anybody else to be disappointed but me.”
“I was in shock,” Bishop said. “Why are we up here on stage?”
The award consisted of a certificate and $250 to put toward future programming.
Others attending the three-day conference were Aaron Oestreicher, Jacob Ash, Jacob Scott, Keyvin Roach, Olivia Wright, Delia Clifford, Anna Davied and Kaitlyn Herder.
Duffy said the winning entry was created with the purpose of working toward making the PSU campus smoke-free.
“Student Government had the idea to put a smoking ban on the ballot,” Duffy said. “We needed to get 900 signatures in support of this, and we decided to build an event around the Great American Smokeout.”
The group cooked donated hot dogs and distributed them, along with free “Quit Kits” containing gum, Smarties, tea and a rubber band and smoke cessation information.
“It was raining and awful that day and I didn’t think we’d get many signatures, but we collected 750 in just three hours,” Duffy said. “We got the rest the next day, and now the smoke ban will be on the ballot in April.”
Matt Brooks, another Gorillas in Your Midst member, presented another anti-smoking effort in one of his classes.
“I had to give a persuasive speech and it was around the time of the Great American Smokeout, so I thought it would be good to write a report about that,” he said. “The teacher took my report and showed it to some of her colleagues.”
Duffy said that two-thirds of the student body would have to support the smoking ban on the ballot for it to pass.
“It obviously wouldn’t take place overnight, but if the president and the faculty take it on it would be in force next fall,” she said.
Right now smoking is prohibited in campus buildings, but is permitted beyond 10 feet from entrances, air vents, etc.
There were some surprised Gorillas at the annual meeting of BACCHUS Peer Education Network, held Nov. 2-6 at Reston, Va., near Washington, D.C.
Gorillas in Your Midst, peer health education group at Pittsburg State University received the national award for Outstanding Creativity in Tobacco Control Programming for an anti-tobacco campaign it conducted on campus in 2010.
Ten group members attended the three-day conference, and only one of them knew about the award in advance.
“I knew, because I submitted the application,” said Sarah Duffy, who organized the winning entry with Jonna Fearmonti. “If we didn’t win, I didn’t want anybody else to be disappointed but me.”
“I was in shock,” Bishop said. “Why are we up here on stage?”
The award consisted of a certificate and $250 to put toward future programming.
Others attending the three-day conference were Aaron Oestreicher, Jacob Ash, Jacob Scott, Keyvin Roach, Olivia Wright, Delia Clifford, Anna Davied and Kaitlyn Herder.
Duffy said the winning entry was created with the purpose of working toward making the PSU campus smoke-free.
“Student Government had the idea to put a smoking ban on the ballot,” Duffy said. “We needed to get 900 signatures in support of this, and we decided to build an event around the Great American Smokeout.”
The group cooked donated hot dogs and distributed them, along with free “Quit Kits” containing gum, Smarties, tea and a rubber band and smoke cessation information.
“It was raining and awful that day and I didn’t think we’d get many signatures, but we collected 750 in just three hours,” Duffy said. “We got the rest the next day, and now the smoke ban will be on the ballot in April.”
Matt Brooks, another Gorillas in Your Midst member, presented another anti-smoking effort in one of his classes.
“I had to give a persuasive speech and it was around the time of the Great American Smokeout, so I thought it would be good to write a report about that,” he said. “The teacher took my report and showed it to some of her colleagues.”
Duffy said that two-thirds of the student body would have to support the smoking ban on the ballot for it to pass.
“It obviously wouldn’t take place overnight, but if the president and the faculty take it on it would be in force next fall,” she said.
Right now smoking is prohibited in campus buildings, but is permitted beyond 10 feet from entrances, air vents, etc.
“At Fort Hays State University, you can’t smoke on campus except in the parking lots,” Duffy said. “If President Steve Scott makes this a totally smoke-free campus, then we would be the first four-year smoke-free institution in Kansas.”
Gorillas in Your Midst consists of around 25 PSU students, plus an incoming group of trainees. In addition to its anti-tobacco campaign, the group has done peer education programs on a variety of other topics, including eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, rape, acquaintance/date rape and sexual assault, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, contraception and unexpected pregnancy, suicide, depression and stress management.
Upcoming activities will a “Love Your Body” booth and sex ed boot camp.
“In the fall we do Freshman Experience, a presentation for the freshmen,” Brooks said.
“We recruit through the fall events, then have peer health education class in the spring,” Duffy said. “We kind of coordinate all the topics we’ll focus on in the fall.”
Gorillas in Your Midst had another Great Gorilla Smokeout Nov. 16 and 17, 2011, and most likely there will be another one in November of 2012.
“It’s definitely been an event we want to keep around,” Duffy said.
Programs are provided to PSU student groups and local schools, based on the peer education concept that these audiences will be more likely to listen to someone they identify with than someone who will lecture them. There is no charge, but donations are accepted.
Anyone wishing additional infornation about the group may contact J.T. Knoll at 620-235-4062 or jtknoll@pittstate.edu.
