Alcorn State University “Our Town, Our Health, Our Future” Lorman, Mississippi

INTRODUCTION

Alcorn State University, located in southwestern Mississippi, was founded in 1871 as the nation’s first public historically black land-grant institution. Nearly 4,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled in the university.

According to Martha Ravola, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Human Sciences, the university serves the underserved and limited-resource counties in southwest Mississippi. “For example,” said Dr. Ravola, “our Upward Bound Program, a program funded by the U.S. Department of Education to provide fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance, recruits first-generation college students from Adams, Claiborne, Jefferson, and Wilkinson County schools. During its summer program, they stay with us for more than a month, during which we tutor them in basic courses to enable them to complete high school and make a successful transition into postsecondary education. We used the Upward Bound orientation session to host the Town Hall Meeting. It was collaborated by the Department of Human Sciences, the Upward Bound Program, and the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. After the Upward Bound orientation, we had a 2-hour panel discussion during the Town Hall Meeting.”

EVENT DESCRIPTION

“Our Town, Our Health, Our Future” was the theme of the May 17 event. Dr. Ravola stated, “Our goal was to have a vantage point for starting more of these events to sensitize our local community, administrators, and students about issues that we are facing. Underage drinking has been a problem, but we did not have any structure for addressing it. We have done some bullying summits, but underage drinking has never been a focus.”

Students, parents, and community representatives from the four counties surrounding Alcorn State were invited. The event was publicized through local print and electronic media, including the e-newsletter Alcorn News, which is sent out throughout the campus to every unit, student, and staff member. Local news channels, including the radio, also publicized the event. Dr. Ravola also sent out a press release through the Office of Communication of the School of Agriculture, Research, Extension, and Applied Sciences.

The Town Hall Meeting attracted an audience of more than 60 students as well as some parents and community members. It featured panelists from law enforcement, the judicial sector, local businesses, education, parental organizations, and state mental health agencies. These panelists included the following:

• Alcorn personnel from the Office of Upward Bound: Lucille Donaldson, Program Director; Glenda Smith-White, program counselor; and Debra Reynolds, Parent Academy county liaison;
• Other Alcorn personnel and students: Dr. Dalton McAfee, Extension Administrator; Dr. Carrie Ford, Department of Human Sciences interim Chair; Alfred Galtney, Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs Director; Michael Storr, Chief of Police; Natasha Sanders, Office of Counseling and Testing counselor; Keith Mitchell, student volunteer; and Atrice King, class of 2014; and
• Tracy Cook, Jefferson County Public School District Superintendent; Beverly Greene, Allstate Insurance agency owner; and Terry L. Lockhart, Warren-Yazoo Mental Health Services program coordinator.

“We invited the local Allstate agency because we have had a lot of drunken driving incidences and reports. We thought that it would be good to have an agent on the panel to talk about that issue,” said Dr. Ravola.

With Sanders as the moderator, panelists actively shared their perspectives and provided statistical information on alcohol-related crimes and violence as well as case studies on the legal, social, and medical repercussions of underage drinking. Facts about alcohol use in terms of genetic predisposition, varying effects by gender, and the impact on decisionmaking and judgment were also discussed. Students became participants when panelists posed thought-provoking questions and conducted role plays. The discussions were also geared toward parents, charging them to be more responsible. The message of Dr. McAfee was one of hope and optimism.

Participants were asked to complete a brief underage drinking survey, the results of which clearly indicated that underage drinking is a severe problem in the communities. In response to the question about which approach would help decrease underage drinking, many respondents chose more education and stiffer penalties.

MEASURES OF SUCCESS

The specific outcomes of the meeting included participants’ understanding that Town Hall Meetings should not be limited to a one-time event. Instead, conversations about underage drinking prevention should be a part of most meetings involving youth and families. Participants also responded that the informational materials distributed at the meeting would facilitate initiating conversations about underage drinking and serve as a guide to plan future events.

NEXT STEPS

Participants felt strongly about the need to conduct follow-up sessions. Alcorn State plans to move forward with this recommendation. Another recommendation was that students should be alerted to problems related to underage drinking through social messaging systems. In addition, more student-led events are needed to empower students to be ambassadors for instituting change among their peers.

“This Town Hall Meeting just scratched the surface of the problem of underage drinking in our communities. The next step is to conduct in-depth focus groups to find out what issues students are facing and how we need to address them. The Town Hall Meeting also brought to light the need to collaborate to make underage drinking prevention a community initiative,” said Dr. Ravola.

Alcorn State Extension plans to follow up in communities through its 4-H programs and other youth-serving initiatives (such as Youth at Risk, which aids youth in resisting risky behaviors) to develop partnerships with local schools that can help hold Town Hall Meeting events regularly.

For further information:
Dr. Martha Ravola, Associate Professor
mravola@alcorn.edu

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