Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

Announcing an Upcoming NCHERM  Webinar 

Understanding The Alcohol  Blackout 

Friday, December 8th,  2006  1:00pm to 3:00pm Eastern  Time 

Presented by:   

Brett A. Sokolow, J.D. and Donal F. Sweeney,  M.D. 

REGISTER WITH THE FORM BELOW,  
OR ONLINE AT _WWW.NCHERM.ORG_ (http://www.ncherm.org/)  

THE  TOPIC 
Our  efforts to curtail underage and high-risk drinking on college campuses 
have  taken on renewed vigor in recent years.  So much so that we can now 
assess the intended and unintended  consequences of enhanced enforcement.  
Without 
diminishing the beneficial effects that enhanced enforcement is  having, many 
campuses have noted sharp increases in “pre-gaming” or  “pre-loading” 
behaviors by students who are fueling up on high-proof liquor in  pre-parties 
before 
going out to events at which their access to alcohol may be  restricted.  At 
the same time, many  campuses are also reporting increased instances of 
blackouts--behaviors by  students while very drunk about which they have no 
memory 
and for which they  have no explanation.   
Students vandalize campus property and have no memory of  doing so.  Students 
drive drunk  without even realizing they are behind the wheel of a car.  
Students in blackouts are at high risk  for sexual assault.  Students claim  
blackouts as a way to escape the campus conduct system.   Understanding 
blackouts 
can help  us to understand whether a blackout should excuse conduct or just 
explain  it.  Can a student in a blackout  make a conscious decision?  Do 
they  
just forget what they did afterward?   
This  webinar is designed to answer key questions: 
·        What causes a  blackout? 
·        How does a blackout affect  memory? 
·        Is blacking out the same as  passing out? 
·        Who is at highest risk for a  blackout? 
·        Can you tell if someone is  having a blackout? 
·        How should we help a student who  is blacked out? 
·        What are implications of  blackouts for prevention and the campus 
conduct system? 
·        What don’t we know about  blackouts? 
Blackouts are a new frontier for medical research.  Our understanding of 
blackouts is  evolving as the field of neuroscience contributes greater 
understanding to brain  function.  Fortunately, the latest  research will be 
explained 
in this webinar by the country’s foremost expert on  alcohol blackouts, Dr. 
Donal F. Sweeney.  Interviewing Dr. Sweeney and helping participants to 
understand the  implications of blacking-out on the college community will be 
Brett 
Sokolow, a  higher education attorney and prevention educator.  More 
information 
on both presenters is  given below.   
Materials will be provided to all registrants.  Ample Q&A opportunities will 
be  given throughout the webinar.   
HOW A WEBINAR  WORKS 
Webinars are cost-effective because everything you need is  already in your 
office -- a telephone and a computer.  Webinars are large-group conference  
calls where you can follow along online with our PowerPoint.  You can even 
project the PowerPoint via  an LCD projector for group participation by your 
staff.  
Each registrant can call in from one  telephone line on campus, so you might 
arrange to use a phone in a conference  room, where your staff and 
administrators can listen and participate via  speakerphone.  You can also 
purchase  
additional lines for multiple campus call-in locations for a moderate  
surcharge.  
You will receive a  call-in 800 number and a PIN for the day of the event.  
Once you join the call, you will be able  to hear the presenters and ask 
questions via phone, while viewing the Power  Point online. 
INTENDED  PARTICIPANTS:  
 
Ø      Student  Affairs Administrators,  
Ø      Judicial  Administrators, Hearing Officers and Boards 
Ø      University  Counsels and Risk Managers,  
Ø      Residential  Life Administrators, 
Ø      Campus Law Enforcement 
Ø      Health Service Staff, 
Ø      Counseling Staff, 
Ø      AOD Prevention and  Education Specialists 
Ø      Health Educators, 
Ø      Campus Sexual Assault  Response Coordinators 

PRESENTERS: 
·        Brett. A. Sokolow,  J.D.  Brett Sokolow is the  President of NCHERM 
and the author of ten books on student affairs law and  policy topics.  Mr. 
Sokolow serves  seven campuses as outside counsel and is a consultant to 
hundreds of  others.  He is the Editor of the Report on Campus Safety and 
Student  
Development and is Legal Issues Editor of the CLHE Student Affairs Law & 
Policy  
Weekly.  He serves on the Board  of Directors of the Council on Law in Higher 
Education (CLHE). He is on the Editorial Advisory Board  of the College and 
University Law Advisor published by the Civic Research Institute.  Mr. 
Sokolow 
is Vice-Chair for Education  of the Directorate Body of ACPA’s Commission on 
Judicial Affairs and Legal  Issues.   

·        Donal F. Sweeney, M.D., is a Fellow of the American Society of  
Addiction Medicine.  He is the  author of the 2003 book, The Alcohol 
Blackout:  
Walking, Talking, Unconscious and  Lethal, published by Mnemosyne Press 
(_www.alcoholblackout.com_ (http://www.alcoholblackout.com/) )  This book 
provides 
up-to-date  information on the causes of blackouts, how they may be 
prevented, 
how to  recognize the person in a blackout, how to deal with him/her while 
unconscious,  and the immense and unrecognized impact of blackouts and their 
actions on  society and the law.  Dr. Sweeney is  a physician in active 
practice, a 
consultant, frequent speaker and expert  witness. 
 



NCHERM Webinar  Registration 

UNDERSTANDING  THE ALCOHOL BLACKOUT 

FRIDAY,  DECEMBER 8TH, 2006 

1:00pm to 3:00pm Eastern  Time 

Please  register by Wednesday, December 6th, 2006 

REGISTRATION  BY CHEQUE OR CREDIT CARD

_____Registration  for December 8th, 2006 Webinar -- $249.99 
_____Registration entitles you to one call-in line per  campus.  Additional   
lines can be  added for $79.99 each per event (please indicate  
quantity of  additional lines needed  _________) 
_____CD-ROM of  Webinar & Materials $199.99 each for registrants 
_____CD-ROM of  Webinar & Materials $249.99 each for  non-registrants 
___________Total 
________________________________________________________________NAME 
________________________________________________________________TITLE 
__________________________________________________________  INSTITUTION 
_____________________________________________________________ADDRESS 
_____________________________________________________________ADDRESS 
____________TELEPHONE_____________FAX________________________E-MAIL 

(Call-in numbers & materials will be e-mailed to the  institutional 
representative listed in the email address above once your  registration is 
received by 
NCHERM) 

CREDIT CARD PURCHASERS: 
________________________________________________________NAME  ON CARD 
___________________________ BILLING ADDRESS (IF DIFFERENT  FROM ABOVE)  
______________________________________________________________________ 
_________________________CARD  NUMBER_______________EXPIRATION 
_____VISA____MASTER CARD____AMEX 
___________________________________________________________SIGNATURE 
 



Please make cheques  payable to: NCHERM 
COMPLETE THIS FORM AND FAX OR MAIL TO  (fax just this page, please): 
NCHERM • 20 Callery Way • Malvern PA  19355-2969 
Phone -- (610)  993-0229 • Fax – (610)  993-0228 
E-mail:  

 
(mailto:)
   • Website:  
_www.ncherm.org_ (http://www.ncherm.org/) 

 
Regards,

Brett A. Sokolow, JD
Special Counsel to  the President, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Special Counsel for Student  Conduct Issues, Warren Wilson College
Special Advisor to the Dean of Campus  Life, Univ. of the Incarnate Word

President, The National Center for  
Higher Education Risk Management, Ltd.
"Best Practices for Student  Health and Safety"
(a not-for-profit corporation)
20 Callery  Way
Malvern, PA 19355-2969
Tel. (610) 993-0229
Fax (610)  993-0228
www.ncherm.org