College is an oasis of adventure between high school and the real world, as anyone who is in college, or has been through it, can attest. Weekends start Thursday right after classes, and extend until Sunday when you finally have to get some sleep and start studying, only to do it all over again next Thursday.

Northeastern is no different from any other college – students drink, party and go to bars to have fun on the weekends. For many Northeastern students, this is their culture, and this is how they spend their weekends. Northeastern does not want to discourage students from having fun, but the school would rather teach them how to have fun safely.

This week, starting Oct. 10, is the beginning of Alcohol Awareness Week. These events are not designed to scare students or show all the students that the administration dislikes its students partying, drinking, or going to bars. It is, rather, a week of education and awareness for students, so that when students go to a party or a bar they have the knowledge necessary to make the right decisions, which could ultimately save them from making a mistake.

A committee of about 12 people has been working for a year to make sure that Alcohol Awareness Week is the best that not only Northeastern has seen, but that all of the colleges in Boston have seen. This week, there are events every day to help make students aware of the risks of alcohol and to promote safe and responsible drinking.

On Tuesday there is a TIPS training program that certifies students to serve alcohol, such as selling beer at events like Patriot games. On Wednesday there is a barbecue where students can win prizes and get free food. Later, Red Sox pitcher and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersely is speaking in Blackman Auditorium at 7 p.m.. Thursday’s events include Sigma Phi Epsilon’s guest speaker Jim Matthews, which will be held in West Addition at 7 p.m. Following their guest speaker there will be a free wine tasting for all students who are of age. Then, Friday there is a drawing for prizes, along with storytelling from members of Alcoholics Anonymous, and a date auction.

Alcohol Awareness Week is not a week where Northeastern is trying to scare students or tell them not to drink or have fun.

Northeastern wants its students to be aware of what can happen when students drink and how students’ decisions affect them and the others around them. There has been a lot of time and effort put into making this a week that the school and student body can be proud of.

– Patrick Murphy is a sophomore psychology major.