If you’ve watched an ACC basketball game lately, you’ve seen these ads. The first features a mother placing a pair of diamond earrings on her daughter’s ears, telling her that her grandmother always wanted her to have them. Several seconds go by before the viewer sees that the mother is dressing her daughter’s body, which lies in a casket. The second commercial begins with a dad talking to his son (who is off camera) about the chilly weather and how he will need to bundle him up when they go for a walk. The father continues to talk while he mashes bananas for his son’s breakfast. When the camera pans to the son, the viewer learns that he is not a baby, but instead is a young man confined to a wheelchair. The son is immobile, unable to speak, and has prominent scar on his skull. Both advertisements conclude with the same general message: Talk to your children about the dangers of alcohol and stop underage drinking. The ads are professional, poignant, and pervasive. Where did they come from? Talk it Out campaign. Governor Pat McCrory created a Substance Abuse and Underage Drinking Prevention and Treatment Task Force by executive order in 2014. The twenty-member task force was ultimately charged with creating a plan to address (1) the underage sale and use of alcohol and drugs, (2) risky behaviors and substance abuse among college students and (3) the provision of treatment and recovery services for people struggling with substance abuse. But one of [...]
Faculty Coordinators
