Purdue News
Purdue News
|
|
September 3, 1999
ASAP vehicle shifts police alcohol awareness effort into high gearNOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Note that the story contains details about a news conference at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday (9/7) at Mike Raisor Pontiac. A photo of the car, with Officer Dan Larson, is available at the PurdueNews ftp site. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A set of hot wheels is joining the Purdue University Police Department as a key element of the department's new alcohol awareness program. A 1999 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, donated by Mike Raisor Pontiac of Lafayette, will serve as the visual focus of ASAP -- the Alcohol Student Awareness Program -- which was initiated in response to the need for an effective tool to provide alcohol-related information to college-age men and women, said Officer Dan Larson of the department's Special Services Division Community Policing Section. The fully functional police vehicle has special ASAP and Purdue Police markings and is designed to serve as a public relations and educational tool for the new program. "We believe in community involvement," said Bret Raisor, general manager of the car dealership. "I'm a Purdue graduate, and this is a great opportunity to help the university and more importantly help inform students about the devastating effect of alcohol abuse." Larson said, "The Trans Am will serve to attract young people to campus locations for informal presentations on alcohol use and abuse. We are unveiling it just a few days before our first home football weekend." He noted that many college students, away from home for the first time, have little knowledge of the effects of alcohol and the consequences of alcohol abuse. "This vehicle will support a program that will make a big impact on the lives of our students and other young people," he said. The donation of the vehicle by Raisor culminates a 15-month effort to develop and implement the program, said William Coghill, director of Purdue Safety and Security. "We very much appreciate the people at Mike Raisor Pontiac who have been our partners in helping us get this exciting project off the ground," Coghill said. At 11:45 a.m. Tuesday (9/7) dealership officials and Purdue and Greater Lafayette police will unveil the car at a news conference at Mike Raisor Pontiac, 2912 E. Main St., Lafayette. After the unveiling, a cross-town procession of the ASAP Pontiac, local police department vehicles and the Boilermaker Special will leave the dealership and arrive on Purdue Memorial Mall about 12:30 p.m. Once on campus, Larson will introduce the vehicle and the concept behind ASAP to the student community with informal presentations on the Memorial Mall. Larson will take the ASAP car and program to campus locations and events such as Day on Campus and orientation programs. Off-campus and Purdue regional campus appearances are in the planning stages as well. Groups seeking ASAP presentations should contact Purdue Police Chief Linda Stump in writing through the Community Policing Section, Purdue Police Department, 205 S. Intramural Drive/TERY, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1677. For more information on ASAP, contact Larson at (765) 496-8364 or (765) 494-8221, dalarson@police.purdue.edu.
|
