Turkey and bowling have quite a bit in common, according to the American Cancer Society. 

They host the Great America Smokeout each year in November to urge people to quit smoking cold turkey.

This year TCU decided to take a different approach to promote the cause and hosted it’s first ever frozen turkey bowl in the commons to encourage students to quit smoking cold turkey.

“It’s just to raise awareness and to encourage people to get informed and help people along if their wanting to quit,” said Yvonne Giovanis, associate director for the Alcohol and Drug Education center.

Students used a frozen turkey to knock down bowling pins in the Quit Cold Turkey Frozen Turkey Bowl.  Some students learned more about ways to quit smoking and the health risks involved with smoking.  

“People are very uneducated about things like this and even if they think they are, they are, like I said, naive about the problems because they don’t want to believe that there’s problems associated with it,” Frogs CARE coordinator Cece Williams said.

Some participants said the event was a positive way to get the message across and that they enjoyed the frozen turkey bowl.

“I think its an effective way to advertise it, and its kind of a creative way and I would have never though of that and it will definitely peek people’s interest to get down here and check it out,” freshman Michael Ridings said.

Displays were set up with items such as bongs, hookah, electric cigarettes, and marijuana containers to help educate students on illegal substances and what to look for in drug abuse.  

The Alcohol and Drug Education Center collaborated with the Crew, Frogs CARE, the TCU police and Sodexo to make the event happen in a more creative way than the simple brochures in years past.

“We need to incorporate something fun for an attention grabber and the we also have to do the education because lets be real whose going to come to a lecture about being smoke free,” Williams said. “The event was a success.”

This new form of awareness is something coordinators hope to continue in the future.