University Park

Alcoholics Anonymous meetings held each Friday at University Park

Weekly meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous are being held on Fridays from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. in room 105 of the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center on the University Park campus. The meetings are open to anyone who has a desire to stop drinking and who wants to learn how to live a sober and responsible life without alcohol.

The Division of Student Affairs at Penn State has facilitated the group’s securing of space for the AA meeting in hopes that this campus-based opportunity would better support students and other community members who are in recovery or who desire recovery. The Alcoholics Anonymous group process has repeatedly demonstrated that individuals who cannot get sober on their own are able to do so through the sharing of common struggles and through the encouragement and support of others who believe in them.

In a recent address to the Faculty Senate, Damon Sims, Vice-President for Student Affairs at Penn State stated,

"As our community moves forward to address the challenges of dangerous drinking, we acknowledge that many individual’s use of alcohol may align less with the one-time alcohol abuse incident, and more with the reality that they may be suffering from an addictive abuse of alcohol," said Damon Sims, vice president for Student Affairs, in a recent address to the Faculty Senate. He said he sees this meeting as one way of acknowledging and responding to that reality.

General reports on the meeting have been very positive.

“Thus far, the ‘Friday’s First’ meeting has been well-attended and has been providing great support to many in our community,” said Joe Puzycki, assistant vice president for Student Affairs at Penn State.

The meetings are open to all members of the Penn State community: students, staff, faculty and alumni. Free parking will be provided for those who wish to attend the meetings. Attendees should park in the Nittany Parking Deck adjacent to the Nittany Lion Inn and bring their parking stub to the meeting.

Again, this meeting is open to anyone who has a desire to stop drinking, however it is designated as a closed meeting, which means that those who are interested in attending an AA meeting for other reasons (such as a class assignment) should seek out an open meeting in the State College area. For a full listing of area meetings, visit http://www.district43.com/meetinglist.html online.

Last Updated February 15, 2011