Hundreds of freshmen will get drug-abuse awareness training at the University of Arizona this week.
It's part of a week of educational activities planned by college students, partly in remembrance of a popular fraternity member who died after overdosing on prescription drugs and alcohol at a party in April.
"He was a beloved member of our community," said Michael Colletti, president of the Interfraternity Council, which is a co-sponsor of Drug Awareness Week. "What better way to remember him than to focus on education?"
Students will be selling bracelets with Wilson Waters Forrester's initials on them.
The bracelets will be purple, the color of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity where 19-year-old Forrester was a member. The funds will be used for scholarships.
Forrester's father, Chip Forrester, will speak to students at a candlelight vigil on Friday.
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Another speaker - UA alum Stephanie Linden, whose brother died from a drug overdose - will address hundreds of freshmen at an event Wednesday.
Experts will be ready to answer students' questions about drug abuse.
"We'll be able to talk about it and answer questions that people have been too scared to ask before," said Jessica Hermann, president of the Panhellenic Council, an event co-sponsor.
Fraternity and sorority leaders will get training from health experts and police.
Students need to know "how to step in as a friend" if they suspect someone is abusing drugs, said Jeremy Zilmer, fraternity and sorority programs coordinator.
A student who needs help is likely to take advice from a respected role model, he said.
Hermann said she was shocked to learn what drugs are available to college students when she received the training.
"The drug culture here is bigger than people think it is," she added.
On StarNet: Read Becky Pallack's blog on higher education in Tucson at go.azstarnet.com/campuscorrespondent
On-campus drug-abuse arrests
2008 90
2009 74
2010 180
Source: UA Police Department
Contact reporter Becky Pallack at bpallack@azstarnet.com or 807-8012.
