August
August 1- 25 Ft. Perimeter Policy Goes into Effect on ECU’s Campus
When students return to East Carolina University for fall semester, the atmosphere
on campus will be a little different. A new policy will be in place requiring that
smokers are twenty-five feet from the perimeter of all campus buildings when smoking.
Welcome Back Week-August 13
August 13 kicks off Welcome Back Week at Wilkes Community College! Activities will
be held on campuses in Ashe, Alleghany and Wilkes counties. The Tobacco Prevention
Coalition, led by Cathy Annas, will partner with the SGA to host the event. Food,
games and giveaways will be provided. They will also offer sign ups for cessation
classes held later in the fall.
Phase II-Tobacco-Free College Initiative
Coming in August, a RFP will be issued for phase II of the Tobacco-Free Colleges
Initiative! Awards can be expected in November.
October
Apple Festival-October 6
The Apple Festival is a community event in Wilkes County held annually on the first
Saturday in October. This year, Wilkes Community College will be on site with student
volunteers to conduct a community survey on tobacco opinions.
Gruen von Behren Is Coming to WCC October 15
He was 13 when he tried spit tobacco (dip) on a camping trip with friends. Unfortunately,
it wasn’t a one-time deal. Gruen ended up with a powerful addiction that changed
his life forever. Just four years later, at the age of 17, he was diagnosed with
oral cancer. To fight it, he’s been forced to endure 35 painful surgeries, including
one radical surgery that removed half of his neck muscles and much of his tongue.
"If I had known then what I know now, I never would have put a dip in my mouth.
Spit tobacco seemed harmless, but it has ruined my life," says Gruen Von Behrens.
Now 27, Gruen travels the country to show the world the reality of spit tobacco.
He will be on the Wilkes Community College Campus Monday, October 15 at 12 noon
in Alumni Hall Lecture Room 1112. All interested students and college employees
are encouraged to attend.
November
Great American Smokeout Week- November 12 through 16
Cathy Annas plans to hold tobacco education events at Wilkes Community College for
the Great American Smokeout. Notable speaker Anne Bunsen, from Carolinas Center
for Medical Excellence, will be one of the highlights for the week.
