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As first-year students get ready to begin their new life and studies at UVic, the university is turning to parents to help start the dialogue about healthy lifestyles.
The university recognizes that parents can have a significant influence on the choices that first-year students make. So this summer, UVic is mailing parents of first-year students coming from Canadian high schools a package of information to help students make a healthy transition to university life.
It includes information about UVic’s smoking policy, communicable diseases, and support resources available through UVic Health Services.
The package also includes “A Parent Handbook for Talking with University Students about Alcohol,” by Dr. Rob Turrisi of the Prevention Research Centre at Pennsylvania State University. Turrisi pioneered the concept in the US of engaging parents to reduce negative behaviours associated with drinking and young people leaving home. UVic is the first university in Canada to embrace this innovative approach by delivering a Canadian version of the handbook to the family homes of incoming first-year students.
The UVic Students’ Society (UVSS) has already voiced its support for the campaign and Turrisi has endorsed the handbook’s use by UVic.
“More than a year ago, we decided this handbook would be the right thing for parents of first-year students, so it’s very rewarding to see the packages going out in the mail this month,” says Dr. Jim Anglin, associate vice-president academic and student affairs.
In September, UVic student affairs, the UVSS, and numerous others involved in student life across campus will be working hard to help students begin their new life at UVic on a positive note.
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