Noted alcohol awareness speaker Mike Green will address the University of Colorado at Boulder聮s Greek community and students Monday night, April 24th, at 7 p.m. in the Glenn Miller Ballroom of the University Memorial Center.
The presentation is free and open to the public.
Green, a recovering alcoholic, ex-college jock and fellow Greek, has spoken at more than 1,000 campuses nationwide in an effort to promote a responsible and mature college lifestyle. His upbeat presentations incorporate comedy, laughter and crowd participation to pull audiences into the subject matter.
"We聮ve been told by other campus contacts that Mike Green聮s presentations are not only very entertaining, but they really strike home at the seriousness of the problem of drinking on campus," said Erik Estrada, the Executive Council member for Pi Kappa Phi, which is facilitating the event.
The presentation is being sponsored by CU-Boulder聮s "A Matter of Degree" (AMOD) Program, the Greek Liaison Office and Pi Kappa Phi.
Green聮s program on alcohol awareness doesn聮t employ a prohibitionist approach, but rather, educates students about a mature and responsible way to have fun. "I don聮t stand up here and preach," Green said. "I like to have fun myself. I don聮t have anything against alcohol, but if you choose to do it, you learn how to do it right."
The "one nighters" problem is a focus of his talks. According to Green, "90 percent of college students will never become alcoholics, yet, while they are in
school, they will have a series of nights when they binge drink. These single nights cause the most problems for students and cause most of the alcohol-related accidents and deaths."
Green聮s presentation is one of many events sponsored by AMOD that address binge drinking on the Boulder campus and in the community. "We聮ve already adopted eight other suggested approaches or techniques suggested by Harvard University to reduce the problem," said Bob Maust, AMOD聮s Project Director, "But Mike Green聮s talk is probably the most entertaining and thought-provoking."
Mike Green is a distinguished alumnus of West Chester University, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. As a defensive lineman in college he received All Pennsylvania Conference and Little All-American honors, as well as a tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles. In 1987, Green was chosen to give expert testimony before the House of Representatives Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, and also was named as one of the "Outstanding Young Men of America."
Green is developing drug and alcohol programs for New Jersey high schools and as a former coach and athlete he has developed programs for the Philadelphia Flyers. He serves as a consultant to the student affairs and athletic departments of numerous universities, including Akron, Hobart, Temple and Villanova.