Edmund Kellerman’s first semester teaching at UF in 1993 got off to a rocky start. He had to fail one of his students who drank so much that he couldn’t keep up with his classes.
“It broke my heart,” said Kellerman, a senior lecturer in the Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication.
Since then, he has spoken to all his classes about the consequences of excessive drinking for the past 21 years.
This year his warnings went digital, when his Introduction to Communications course transferred into an online class.
Generally before the first football game, Kellerman makes a statement on his e-Learning course page for his students to “have a good time but remember, we will always measure you by your restraint, not by how much liquor you can consume.”
Due to the recent assaults on campus, Kellerman wants his students to be safe. In his most recent post, he mentioned drinking and sexual assaults.
“If you are involved with alcohol, you are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted or physically assaulted,” he said.
Maureen Miller, the director of GatorWell, said heavy drinking during football games can be dangerous.
“Drinking in general has a variety of consequences such as vomiting, passing out and getting into fights,” she said.
If students are going to drink at games, they should pace themselves, she said.
Kimberly Miller, a 19-year-old UF public relations sophomore, said she has seen less drinking on campus.
“If I’m intoxicated all the time, how am I going to remember college?” she said.
For Kellerman, drinking at social events should be done in moderation. Kellerman said he will be sending out another announcement before the homecoming game.
“I’m doing this because I care,” he said.
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 9/17/2014 under the headline "UF professor warns students about excessive drinking in email"]
