User:Iantownsend88/WVUp All Night

West Virginia University's Up All Night (WVUp All Night) is a nationally recognized student activity program designed to provide free, fun and safe alternatives to alcoholic consumption. The program provides food, beverages, and entertainment to thousands of students every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night while school is in session. The program has been lauded as successfully reducing alcohol related arrests and raising student retention rates. Similar programs at the University of Missouri, Penn State, and other colleges across the country have sprung up as a result of Up All Night's success.

History
West Virginia University first began to envision an alcohol diversion program around 1997, a year in which the college was named the number one party school in the country by The Princeton Review. . President David C. Hardesty and other administrators saw the need to change WVU's perception and pushed for the creation of such a program. .  The program was initially funded by cutting of some similar university programs as well as $25,000 in corporate support. From its inception, Up All Night has remained fairly unchanged, with administration finding the combination of free food, activities, and entertainment one that continues to attract students.

Distinguishing Features
The program's popularity in part stems from a combination of unique facets which contribute to its notability in its media and press coverage. The program runs weekly from Thursdays through Saturdays, nights that most students typically choose to spend partying. The late night hours of 9 PM to midnight on Thursdays and 9 PM to 2 AM Fridays and Saturdays offer convenience to students when they tire of the bar scene and/or need a late night snack. Most importantly, the program is well within the means of the average college budget--the food and drink is free with a valid WVU student ID (including the late night breakfast food at Hatfield's), as are the stand up comedy shows featuring nationally touring comedians as well as local acts, new release movies, round trip bus rides, tutoring and study services, and special feature programs, such as "game shows," drawings,concerts,and the infamous Mountaineer Idol contest, with a $1,000 grand prize. . Other offerings include Astro Bowling, ping pong, air hockey, and arcade games for 25 cents (paddles are free with a student ID), laser tag, and billiards. As this program is held in the Mountainlair, the West Virginia University student union, it is just a short walk from the most popular downtown bars and block parties, eliminating the need to drive--possibly under the influence--to enjoy the program's many benefits. Another unique option are the vegetarian dishes offered in the self serve free buffet, something other 'safe alternative' university programs lack. By linking to other safe alternatives offered by the university, the program also broadcasts activities to students in other departments of WVU, such as the University Arts Series, Mountaineer Week, Arts and Entertainment programs, sporting events, and student organizations. These factors, as well as many others, have revolutionized the program's image into the alluring program former president David C. Hardesty, Jr. had envisioned.

National Recognition
WVUp All Night, which attracts between 2,000 and 4,000 students each night, has elicited many positive responses from the students at the university. When surveyed, 99 percent of students gave an encouraging opinion of the program. Many students who do not like to drink or smoke feel that WVUp All Night gives them another option where they can let go and hang out with friends on the weekend. One of the students says, "I like the way it attracts a diverse group of people," she said. "You see people from fraternities and sororities, international students; everyone seems to enjoy it." Along with gaining the students’ popular opinion, WVUp All Night has also received national attention. ABC's Good Morning America featured WVU’s program on the show. WVU also earned recognition in The Templeton Guide, as one of the leading institutions addressing character development. WVUp All Night was also nominated for The Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem- Oriented Policing.

Media Coverage
When ABC's Good Morning America broadcast a story on September 24 about WVU's efforts to provide alternative activities to students on weekends, a national audience learned how last year's "Number 1 Party School" had found creative ways to erase that stigma. Correspondent Beth Nissen, on campus September 4-5 during a busy WVU-Ohio State football weekend, captured the activities along with reactions of students and WVU officials to innovative programs aimed at curbing a problem prevalent on nearly all college campuses: binge drinking.

The ABC crew recorded WVUp All Night activities on a busy Friday night in the Mountainlair, where Vice President for Student Affairs Kenneth Gray told Nissen that WVU is giving students "an opportunity to decide if they want to do something else" besides drink. "They have alternatives now," he noted.

Good Morning America co-host Kevin Newman introduced the story, calling it a visit to a university that used to be known as "party central" and is now trying to do something about that image, noting, "it appears to be working." At the end of the story, he said "there's more proof that the program's working: WVU has dropped out of the top 10 party schools".