A student-run organization that provides fun alternatives to drug and alcohol use on campus is re-launching with the hope of starting chapters at colleges and universities across the country.
“Rather than preach to students, we want to showcase the many ways you can have fun without alcohol and drugs on a college campus,” said Ken Procaccianti, founder and CEO of Hammered, which was originally founded at Northeastern University in 2002.
According to Procaccianti, the goal of Hammered is to tear down the stigma that if you don’t drink, you’re a “dork.” The organization hosts events and activities such as concerts, video game tournaments and sports games, in order to let students have fun without alcohol and drugs. The organization also holds special events on holidays such as Halloween.
“A lot of times when students hear that the school is sponsoring a ‘dry’ event it becomes a nerdy or dorky event to go to,” Procaccianti said. “What’s different about Hammered is it is student run and student founded, so it appeals to students more; it is their friends and peers sponsoring these events.”
Student drinking on college campuses is a hot topic for campus administration and is constantly a debate between the university and the students, he said.
At Binghamton University there is “Late Nite,” a program that provides students with an alternative to drinking on the weekends, such as movie nights and game tournaments.
“Late Nite is run by grad assistants and staff from Campus Life, but other programs can incorporate activities with Late Nite,” said Gerry Johansen, associate director of the University Health Services’ Alcohol and Other Drug Program.
The Alcohol and Other Drug Program is currently looking to pursue alternative programs within the local community, according to Johansen. Though he had not previously heard of Hammered, he said that it sounds like something worth exploring.
Hammered aims to approach the idea of what can be done about the drinking culture on campus from a different way, providing a balance, Procaccianti said.
This fall Hammered’s main goal is to start chapters at schools across the country.
“More campuses are trying to educate and preach [about alcohol and drug abuse],” Procaccianti said. “Ultimately as a student you want to have a good time and enjoy yourself so if there’s nothing else to do on campus you will most likely turn to drinking on the weekends.”
A handful of students across the country have started chapters of Hammered at their schools. Although the group is only in its first few weeks of promoting the organization to schools, new chapters have formed at Southern Illinois University, the University of Tampa and the University of North Texas.
“If a student is interested they could go to Hammered.org and create an account as on any other social networking Web site,” Procaccianti said. “There is a step-by-step chapter start-up guide that walks through the process of registering a chapter with your school.”
Hammered.org also provides chapter event ideas, and is a useful resource for starting and running a successful chapter. Since Hammered is a privately funded organization, the Web site also gives fundraising ideas for the individual chapters. Depending on the school, students might also be able to apply for funding through the student governments or campus life.
To learn more about starting a Hammered chapter at BU, visit hammered.org.