Peer education programs at Health Center win award, grants

Two peer education programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's University Health Center have been honored with a national award for an alcohol awareness program and grants to promote efforts in AIDS awareness.

Husker Choices, the peer alcohol education group, was one of three winning programs of the National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week Award. Husker Choices was recognized and awarded a $5,000 prize Sept. 14 in Washington, D.C.

PERSUNL (Peers Encouraging Responsible Sexuality at UNL) has been awarded two grants from Nebraska Health and Human Services. One grant provides for free HIV testing to UNL students at Cornerstone once a semester on campus. The other is for a World AIDS Day Project.

The 30-member Husker Choices group includes student leaders and student athletes who work together to educate other students about low-risk alcohol use. Husker Choices provide presentations to greek houses, residence halls, University Foundations classes and other campus organizations.

Husker Choices begins its annual social norms campaign for UNL students each year at the Big Red Welcome festivities that open the academic year. The group distributes 3,000 buttons containing the social norms message for the year. In the weeks leading up to National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, the Husker Choices Prize Patrol cruises around campus in a golf cart awarding cash vouchers for $10 and raffle tickets to students sporting the social norms button on their backpacks. On the first evening of the week, Husker Choices awards a $200 gift certificate to the winner of the raffle drawing.

PERSUNL has been recognized in the past for the group's contributions to HIV/AIDS education and prevention by the Lancaster County HIV/AIDS Task Force and has been recognized by the Templeton Foundation as a "Program that encourages Character." It was also recognized by Bacchus Gamma, an international association of college- and university-based peer education programs focusing on student health and safety issues, for providing HIV antibody testing on campus with its campaign titled "It's Better to Know."

Free HIV testing has been provided for three years at Cornerstone, 16th and U streets, on the second and fourth Saturday of every month between 1 and 3 p.m. This free testing can be anonymous as well as confidential and is done with the ORASURE testing method, which means no needles.

The World AIDS Day Project grant will assist with the cost of programming for World AIDS Day. Events planned include an awareness-raising project as well as an opening ceremony and educational display during the week of World AIDS Day (Dec. 1), in commemoration of this annual event. Gov. Mike Johanns will issue a proclamation for World AIDS Day this year and a portion of the AIDS "Names Quilt" will be on display in the Nebraska Union, sponsored in conjunction with the University Program Council.

CONTACT: Jennifer Snyder, University Health Center, (402) 472-7459