Wellesley to Start New Alcohol Abuee Program

Prompted by recent studies showing that women are drinking more than they used to and drinking alone more often than men, Wellesley College has decided to start a program focusing on undergraduate alcohol use.

"We're not saying that alcoholism is a problem on the Wellesley campus anymore than anywhere else, but we do think it's important for people to choose their drinking habits wisely," Wellesley social worker Nancy Gleason said yesterday.

Set to begin in the fall, the program will include a series of short skits, acted out by Wellesley students, which confront alcohol-related problems. The audience will discus and revolve the dilemmas, Gleason said, because "people don't learn from lectures. They learn from talking and discussing with each other."

Gleason said that the program will not just be for women; it will focus on drinking related issues relevant to all college students.

$17,000 Grant

The program is being financed by a $17,000 grant from the Metropolitan Life Foundation, which will pay for producing the programs and making videotaped versions available to other schools and college.

Wellesley students interviewed yesterday had mixed reactions to the planned program, saying they were not sure whether the program would really help women with drinking problems.

"Most of the people who drink excessively are aware of it," said freshman Ashley H. Cooper, adding that she doesn't think she knows anyone who has a drinking problem.

Cooper who said she found the idea of the program somewhat juvenile; "It's reminiscent of something I do in high school--I don't think I, personally, would de it again.

"I guess a program like that is good in that it reminds people of the problems (of alcohol abuse), but you can only slap people in the face to many times," said junior Margaret A. Stimpson.

A spokesman in the University Health Services mental health censer said she was unaware of any similar alcohol-abuse programs at Harvard.