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A new resource is available to University students to learn moreabout their bodies, and freshmen are required to use it.
My Student Body is an online resource for college students tobecome more informed with health issues impacting them.
Amy Cavender, Wellness Education coordinator, said theUniversity decided to make it mandatory for freshmen to use theservice to monitor the impact it will have on them over the nextfour years and to set a good tone for the students’ entire collegecareer.
Wesley Austin, a computer science freshman, said they arerequired to read the information on the site and take a quiz on it.He said they must receive an 80 percent or higher on the quiz andthen e-mail the results to the University.
Cavender said the University investigated online educationresources for several years and decided on My Student Body becauseof the site’s information, format and price.
Cavender said the site costs the University $8,000 for one yearof access.
Cavender said the University “wanted to be proactive in ourapproach to problem drinking behaviors such as binge drinking,alcohol related violence, sexual assault, driving while intoxicatedand alcohol overdoses.”
Cavender said the multiple alcohol-related fatalities thathappened last year on campus pushed the University to become amember of My Student Body.
Sarah Lord, director of College Health Programs at Inflexxion,Inc., the company that created and hosts My Student Body, said manycolleges across the nation use their Web site.
Lord said the company wants students “to get focused on theirhealth” and are excited to have the University as a part of theirgroup.
Lord said My Student Body began as an alcohol awareness program,and a sex health program was added later. Currently, she said theyhave a tobacco program being distributed and are developing astress and nutrition program.
Lord said the company plans to add a new program every year toMy Student Body.
Cavender said the information on the site focuses on ways toreduce harmful situations that may happen while drinking, learningto stick to drinking limits and facts on how alcohol affectspeople. Also, she said the site has interactive tools that giveindividual feedback to students about their behavior, whichresearch found helps people start and continue healthierbehaviors.
Lord said they develop programs based on information gatheredabout health issues from their research on administration, studentsand health leaders’ concerns.
Lord said the company tested the site’s effectiveness by arandom, controlled research study on students. She said the sitedid change students’ behavior about alcohol and STDs.
Lord said the study proved students who used the site drank lessexcessively, had better sex knowledge and attitudes and were threetimes more likely to use a condom than students who did not utilizethe site.
“We can affect behavior changes and that is what it [the site]is all about,” Lord said.
Cavender said 65 percent of student evaluations of the site werepositive. She said most students thought it was harder thanexpected and learned a lot of things they did not know.
Austin said the quiz on My Student Body was not too hard and wason information he previously knew.
Contrary to Austin, Philip Smith, an undecided freshman, saidthe quiz was long and difficult. Also, he said it was unclear whyfreshmen were required to participate.
John Nuermberg, a construction management freshman, agreed withSmith. He said he learned some information, but thought it was tootime consuming.