On Oct. 22, the Lifestyles Center had an open event for students to take part in a night of Zumba to fight alcohol and drug abuse on campus.

The goal of the event was intended to motivate students at risk of alcohol abuse or the various dangers of partying by providing an alternative way to spend the evening.

The event was hosted by the Lifestyles Center, which promotes student health and other like-minded events. Yarbrielle Ingram, a graduate student in graphic design, volunteered to offer her talents and knowledge of Zumba exercises.

Zumba is a workout style that originated in Brazil and other South American countries. It is known for its focus on long-form dancing aimed at overall weight reduction rather than specialized muscle development.

Ondrea Campagnolo, a graduate student in psychology, represented the Lifestyles Center. She said how the center promotes healthy choices, while also keeping them accessible to other students by keeping the costs low and accessible to Oswego students.

“We like to run programs on campus that give students an alternative to going out, going to the bars or house parties or dorm parties,” Campangolo said. “So, we like to run free events or low charge events [in order to give students other options] to kill time on campus.”

The week is filled with events, usually providing free T-shirts and workout equipment to promote a healthy lifestyle.

“We run these events sporadically, and the reason we are running events this week, is because last week was National Alcohol Awareness, but we had our fall break at the end of the week,” Campagnolo said. “We wanted to make sure we got a full week of programming and a full week of students being on campus.”

Throughout the week, the Lifestyles Center will be hosting many other events. However, issues with advertising and low turnouts have caused events to be pushed back. 

The Zumba event had only ranged in a low turnout of four to seven people, including staff. The event lasted one hour, but everyone who participated in physical exercise was offered a free exercise band or shirt.

“Last year, we did one paint night,” Campagnolo said. “We attempted to do a second paint night, but we had a lot of issues with advertising.”

The few students who did participate were dubious on the effects Zumba had on the overall well-being of Oswego students. Trentin Carentz, an Oswego State accounting major, had attended the event with his partner. Carentz said that he feels alcohol and substance abuse is alive on campus and is especially popular among underage students.

“A lot of people drink, [especially people] our age,” Carentz said. “Underage drinking definitely happens.”

He also said he finds the link between Zumba and reducing substance abuse to be weak at best.

“I’m not 100 percent sure on that,” Carentz said. “Maybe some more research needs to be put forward for that.”

Photo by Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian