As a new freshman at the University of Colorado, I was strongly encouraged to complete an online alcohol program called AlcoholEdu.

After completing the program and spending my first months on campus, it is obvious to me that the students and the Boulder community would benefit tremendously from all freshmen taking a mandatory semester-long alcohol and drug awareness class.

AlcoholEdu was useful and informative, but I feel that more is needed to inform students and deter them from the hazards of binge drinking and drug use.

This is not to say that a class would eliminate new students from partying. Instead, it would help them make better decisions and keep themselves, and the community, safe.

Many students believe the misconception that everyone in college drinks and experiments with drugs, and that they are smart enough to handle themselves. They believe that blacking or passing out is not as big of a deal as health professionals, the police and the administration make it out to be.

I, too, was under this false impression until taking the online course, during which I learned a lot more about drinking and its effects than I thought I would.

According to collegedrinkingprevention.gov, more than 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries and 500,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 sustain unintentional alcohol-related injuries.

The College Alcohol Study, conducted by Harvard's School of Public Health, found that 30 percent of students who drank in the past year said they had driven after drinking alcohol during the past 30 days.

Nearly half of America's 5.4 million full-time college students abuse drugs or drink alcohol on binges at least once a month, according to a 2007 study conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

These statistics alone should be enough to convince the CU administration that tackling the problem of college drinking and drug abuse should be a priority. Not just for the students' welfare, but also for the community's. Although I believe the administration is moving in the right direction, this optional program is not enough to make a real impact on student's behavior.

If CU was to create a class for freshman, the amount of alcohol and drug related sanctions, arrests, accidents and deaths would more than likely decrease dramatically.

Although funding this class would be expensive and require a lot of work and planning, the benefits would outweigh the costs. More students would be informed about the risks of drinking and drugs, and (if the class was taught in the right way to reach students) fewer students would drink in a dangerous way and less would abuse drugs.

Some would argue that college students should and do know better, and that they blatantly ignore the information they have been provided with and choose to drink and use drugs in a hazardous way.

The truth is, much of the information students today receive is incorrect. They rely on the testimonies of friends, and often are under false impressions when it comes to how much they can handle and what is safe.

I considered myself pretty knowledgeable about alcohol and its effects before taking the class, but realized after receiving a 70 percent on the final that there was a lot I didn't know.

I also learned that some of the "facts" I knew weren't true at all.

New freshmen may say that taking a semester-long class would take up valuable credit hours and make them unable to take the classes they need to graduate in four years. They may also argue that transitioning into a new environment, such as college, is stressful enough, and, combined with the schoolwork they already have to stay on top of, an alcohol and drug class would be too much to handle.

This proposed class could be integrated into the credit system so that it works in favor of the students. The class could only meet once a week, but be worth 3 credit hours. This not only encourages the students to do well in the class, but it also has a minimal time commitment so it doesn't interfere with their already hectic schedules.

A course would not only help students, it would benefit the community. If students get the right information, hundreds of alcohol- and drug-related accidents could be prevented. I strongly feel that if the course is implemented and taught the correct way, students will be less likely to drink themselves to a lethal point, less will get behind the wheel intoxicated and less will become dependent on drugs.

The pros heavily outweigh the cons when debating whether a mandatory class should be instated at CU. There shouldn't be a debate at all.

The administration should implement a new alcohol and drug class into CU's curriculum, and before dismissing it because of the cost or the complaints of new freshmen, should seriously consider the safety of their students and the community.

Andriana Rogers is a freshman at the University of Colorado.