In developing this PSA video script, my main goals were to educate incoming students on FSU’s policies prohibiting illegal drugs and underage alcohol use, warn about the risks and consequences of substance abuse, and promote a positive vision of the incredible opportunities available by making healthy choices in college.
To create this educational drug and alcohol abuse prevention video, I downloaded an educational video template from the Canva website. I then uploaded that template to Animoto, a free video creation tool for classroom use. Animoto allowed me to add voice-over narration to the video easily. I made sure to modify the voice-over to ensure audibility.
In addition to the voice-over, I included visuals and pictures from Fayetteville State University’s website to help illustrate key points (Fayetteville State University n.p). The visuals depict positive images of students engaged in healthy, substance-free activities like studying, attending events, and participating in clubs or organizations (Fayetteville State University n.p). To further increase accessibility, I added subtitle captions to the video. This enables students with auditory disabilities or difficulties to follow along with the narration by reading the captions.
The video opens with a welcome to draw students in and get them feeling proud about joining the FSU community. Then, I laid out FSU’s firm stance against illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, prescription pills, and even marijuana, as well as the restrictions on alcohol possession and use for underage students. The video highlights the disciplinary consequences like suspension and expulsion to underscore how seriously FSU takes this issue. I made sure to promote FSU’s free, confidential counseling as a supportive resource for anyone struggling with drug abuse or addiction. This is important to include to destigmatize seeking help or counseling services.
The main reason why I choose to discuss drug abuse is that substance use has become one of the most widespread health problems on U.S. college campuses in recent decades. Nearly half of students in one study met the criteria for a substance use disorder between the first and third year (Welsh et al. 117). Substance abuse is linked to lower GPAs, less study time, more missed classes, and a decreased likelihood of graduating or being employed after college. It also carries medical and psychiatric risks (Welsh et al. 119). Alcohol use is highly prevalent, with over 60% of full-time students consuming alcohol and 39% binge drinking in the past month – rates higher than non-college peers (Welsh et al. 117). Binge drinking increases illicit drug use risk (Welsh et al. 117). The transition to college may contribute to increased drinking.
Nonmedical use of prescription stimulants like Adderall for cognitive enhancement is escalating, presenting challenges for prescribers (Welsh et al. 117). Around 10% of campus students in America use stimulants nonmedically, again exceeding non-student rates (Welsh et al. 117). Cocaine use affects around 4% of full-time students annually (Welsh et al. 117). Over 20% report opportunities for cocaine use in the past year, showing its substantial presence on campuses (Welsh et al. 117).
Moreover, daily cannabis use among students nearly doubled from 2007 to 2014, with 20% using it monthly in 2016 (Welsh et al. 118). Evidence links heavy cannabis use to impaired memory, learning, and academic outcomes. While tobacco use has declined, vaping nicotine and cannabis extracts via devices like Juul is exploding in popularity among college students (Welsh et al. 118). The use of MDMA, LSD, and other psychedelics is gaining popularity, with MDMA prevalence more than doubling from 2004-2016 among students (Welsh et al. 118). “Microdosing” psychedelics is also an emerging trend (Welsh et al. 118). The opioid crisis impacts campuses, with ages 18-25 reporting the highest opioid misuse rates (Welsh et al. 118). Opioid use disorder often begins in adolescence or young adulthood. However, students may be reluctant to enter treatment. Key risk factors include peer influences, the perception that substance use is normative, overestimation of peer use rates, college independence or transition challenges, and specific psychiatric conditions (Welsh et al. 118, 119).
Work Cited
Fayetteville State University “Fayetteville State University Campus Experience.” https://www.uncfsu.edu/experience-our-campus.
Welsh, Justine W., Yujia Shentu, and Dana B. Sarvey. “Substance use among college students.” FOCUS, A Journal of the American Psychiatric Association 17.2 (2019): 117-127.https://focus.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.focus.20180037
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