CROSSROADS at UNCW is sponsoring its 10th annual safe spring break campaign, Spring Break Games, to help students make healthy, safe decisions while they’re on spring break.

According to the CROSSROADS website, the biggest form of substance use among UNCW students is alcohol. A study conducted by Mainstreet.com deemed Wilmington as one of the top ten drunkest cities in America.

“We know it can be a high risk time for students,” said Aimee Hourigan, the assistant director for CROSSROADS. “We want to remind them if you’re going somewhere, have fun, but do it in a safe way. We do this by giving them alternatives and lots of information.”

Hourigan supervises prevention work efforts on campus and is involved with the Spring Break Games campaign.

CROSSROADS has had a lot of success in the past with safe spring break campaigns. They use themes that are trendy and catchy to pull students in.

This year’s campaign is called Spring Break Games, based on the popular franchise “The Hunger Games.”

CROSSROADS chose “The Hunger Games” theme to portray Spring Break as an adventure. CROSSROADS and the peer educators in the program see themselves as ‘trainers’ for everyone going off to the Spring Break Games.

“We need to do our best to prepare and train students for whatever they experience over spring break,” Hourigan said.

Weston White and Nathan Booe are student peer educators with CROSSROADS. Peer Educators promote substance abuse prevention on campus through the educational programming, service, and outreach efforts of CROSSROADS.

White says the most common form of substance use he hears about among students is alcohol abuse, referring to it as the new social norm. 

“We want people to be safe and have a good spring break,” Booe said. “We want them making good decisions that will keep their bodies healthy.”

CROSSROADS has had a great response to the program. At an event in Wagoner Hall on Feb. 18, students participated in 10 substance use awareness activities in order to get a free t-shirt. Over 60 promotional shirts were handed out in under a half an hour.

“Hopefully this will help students think about what their plans are for spring break and how to have fun without having a lot of negative experiences,” Hourigan said.

CROSSROADS strives to be an accurate, non-judgmental resource for students. They believe in doing things that are based on evidence and research. The Spring Break Games isn’t about preventing students from having fun over spring break, but is focused on promoting safety while doing so.