Freshmen and their Parents Attend “Conversations that Count” Event

More than 300 students and their parents attended Wednesday night’s “Conversations that Count” event in the Carmody Center. Organized by Gonzaga’s Counseling and Student Services offices, the event is an opportunity for freshmen and their parents to openly discuss, learn about, and work to prevent teen substance abuse.

The event, which was put on by a local organization called the Community of Concern, aims to educate parents and students on the effects of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco on the teenage brain. Through group discussions and mock scenarios, parents and their sons had the chance to talk about and build strategies for how to deal with peer pressure. Mimi Fleury, the founder of the Community of Concern, and Beth Kane Davidson, the director of Suburban Hospital’s addiction treatment center, also spoke to the community.

"The night is a wonderful opportunity for open and honest discussion--a chance to bring parents and students together to help them form a network of resources within the larger Gonzaga community, so they don't feel alone in dealing with the issue of substance use," says Couseling Department Chair Maureen McLaughlin. "Freshmen are encouraged to think seriously about this topic now so if and when they do encounter pressure to use or drink, they feel comfortable and confident in saying, 'no.' "

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