The Strategic Communication program in the Schieffer School of Journalism has received a grant to educate students about the affects of alcohol. A non-profit group, The Century Council, awarded the $50,000 grant to the Schieffer School.

The Schieffer School’s team competed against 140 other teams at the 2009 American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). The team put together an approach to educate students about the symptoms of alcohol poisoning.

The team included members of Dr. Amiso George’s class, strategic communication faculty members, Alcohol and Drug Education Center and other campus departments.

The health communication campaign’s name is an acronym for symptoms of alcohol poisoning. VITALS stands for Vomiting, Incoherence, Temperature, Absence of color, Low breathing and Seizure.

Assistant professor of strategic communication Wendy Macias conducted a benchmark survey that showed one third of TCU undergraduate students having little knowledge of signs of alcohol poisoning.

An introduction to VITALS will begin this month and end April 2012 with an event.