Proposed OSU addiction center good idea for students
Former Oklahoma State University head men’s basketball coach Eddie Sutton had a captive crowd of fraternity and sorority students Tuesday evening on the Stillwater OSU campus as he addressed the Greek Alcohol Awareness Program about the dangers of alcohol.
Nearly 1,500 students listened to Sutton talk about his first drink, how the disease of alcoholism progressed for him and how he has a vision of being able to help college students who start on a similar path.
Sutton’s storied coaching career came to an end last spring after he pleaded no contest to alcohol charges filed as a result of collision that left him and another driver injured.
Sutton wants to raise money to build an addiction center on the OSU campus. He certainly has the clout to do it, and it is a worthy goal.
Many students succumb to the temptations of alcohol while they are in college. Alcohol seems to be the center of many activities of youth, even before they get out of high school. It would not be a stretch to discover several college students probably already are alcoholics.
Sutton is right that universities should play a key role in helping young people overcome the temptations of alcohol or drugs, but also overcome addiction. He envisions a full-fledged addiction center where there is a dorm for recovery and at least a dozen counselors.
He said the OSU campus right now has only one addiction counselor.We hope Sutton is able to achieve this worthy goal for OSU, and it would be wise for other state universities to follow this lead.
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