By Sarah Natchipolsky

The University Health Center hosted its third annual alcohol-free tailgate during the homecoming football game on Nov. 2.

The sober tailgate, located in the parking lot next to the health center, was particularly geared toward UMD community members in recovery from addiction. However, the tailgate was open to anyone and was free of charge.

Coffee, water and bagels sat on a picnic table in place of beer and liquor. Just beyond the table, two sets of cornhole boards were arranged for tailgaters to play.

Alexander Forde, a Ph.D. student and president of Terps for Recovery, attended the tailgate. Forde himself is in recovery from alcohol addiction, and said that sober events offer a much-needed haven where he can spend time with friends and not have to worry about avoiding substances.

“We just want to have fun,” he said. “We want to have this opportunity to just meet other people and feel normal and not stressed out.”

Forde also said he enjoys attending sober events and explaining why they’re necessary to try to reduce misconceptions that others may have about people in recovery.

“There’s just so much stigma around being in recovery from addiction, or just having addiction or substance abuse as part of your life story,” Forde said. “But I like showing up and being visible so that people could say, ‘Well, he’s a little weird, but he’s just a guy, he’s not scary.’”

Laura Place, the Health Center’s coordinator of substance use intervention and treatment and staff advisor for Terps for Recovery organized the tailgate. She recommended that people should keep their friends and family members recovering from addiction in mind when planning parties and get-togethers.

“If you’re going to make a couple of trays of jello shots and have a couple of cases of beer as a starting point for your guests, maybe get a couple of different sodas,” she said. She also suggested offering non-alcoholic drinks that are indistinguishable from alcoholic ones so that guests who aren’t drinking feel more comfortable. 

In the United States, 20% of college students met the criteria for an alcohol use disorder, according to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. An alcohol use disorder is characterized by difficulty in controlling one’s alcohol use regardless of any social or physical repercussions. 

While Forde said he believes that the university offers a solid number of sober events for students, outside activities with friends often involve alcohol and can be challenging for students in recovery to navigate. 

“If you were to ask your typical undergraduate, ‘What are you going to go out and do to have fun?’ a lot of them are going to say, ‘We’re going to go to the bars,’” Forde said. “And so I feel like the progress to be made is sort of educating people that maybe if somebody in their friend group is struggling with substances, they can be open to doing other things.”

James Flentje also attended the tailgate. Flentje is the regional resource director for Caron, an addiction treatment provider, which sponsored the tailgate. He said that while traditional tailgates may involve alcohol, sober ones can be just as enjoyable. 

“[There’s this belief that] when you go to college, you should party, and that’s not necessarily for everybody,” Flentje said. “You can have the same kind of fun in sobriety and actually remember it.”