Snapshots Announcements Spotlight UTSA Athletics

January 2012, Issue 1



Announcements




Be A Responsible Roadrunner: Student Elected Area Representative for National Organization


Be A Responsible Roadrunner members R.J. Rangel, Kristen Pina & Alex Rivera at BACCHUS Network General Assembly 2011

“Attending the conference was a great opportunity to network with my peers from across the country from universities like Harvard and Columbia,” said Pina. “It was really interesting to hear how they share health promotion information on their campuses and learn ways we can incorporate some of the ideas at UTSA.”

The students were accompanied at the assembly by Kelsey Bratcher, UTSA associate director for risk education and campus programs, who assisted in organizing the BACCHUS Network General Assembly Silent Auction that took place throughout the conference. Bratcher serves as the Texas state coordinator for the BACCHUS Network.

"Student attendance at BACCHUS General Assembly is very important for Be A Responsible Roadrunner and UTSA," said Bratcher. “It is an opportunity for the students to see they are not alone in their mission to promote responsible and healthy decision making. They are able to see the big picture of health promotion and risk reduction and bring back ideas and resources to assist them in their programming and leadership development back on campus.”

While attending the conference, the students not only attend sessions and keynotes, but they have the opportunity to participate in a national meeting, share their voice regarding the national organization and vote on important topics.

According to BACCHUS bylaws, each year at the national conference, one student from each affiliation in attendance represents his or her campus as a delegate. The delegates meet, discuss issues of importance to the network, and vote on important decisions. This year, the delegates discussed and voted upon a new membership plan for the network that includes an annual membership fee. The BACCHUS Network has never had a membership fee in its 36-year history, so this was a historic vote.

The delegates, including Rangel, debated for nearly two hours the pros and cons of instituting a membership fee. Many students spoke with passion about the importance of the network, the support it provides to individual peer educators and campus groups, and the loss to the collegiate health promotion field should BACCHUS have to reduce its services. BACCHUS has seen a 60% decrease in funding support in recent years with the downturn of the economy. The delegates passed the new membership plan with 85% in favor of the fee.

“I am glad to have represented BARR in the membership fee vote and see it pass,” said Rangel. “The cost of the BACCHUS membership fee is minimal when you compare it to saving someone’s life. That is what we do in peer education, save lives.”

The BACCHUS Network is a network of more than 32,000 student leaders and advisers who work with more than 8 million peers on more than 900 campuses around the world to promote healthier behaviors and raise awareness on issues surrounding topics including alcohol, drug and tobacco use through peer education and community leadership.

Be A Responsible Roadrunner End of Semester Awards

Be A Responsible Roadrunner is a student organization supported by the Office of Student Activities. The organization is made up of student leaders dedicated to purposeful, diverse and educational programming. Be A Responsible Roadrunner supports the rights of all students to make their own choices regarding behaviors that affect their health and encourage student to educate themselves about those issues. Be A Responsible Roadrunner encourages all students to consider a wide range of healthier behaviors that reduce or eliminate the risk of negative outcomes.