Know the Score 2 visited the campus to spread awareness about problem gambling through interactive booths in the IB atrium, the Meeting Place, and Oscar Peterson Hall earlier this month.
Te-Anna Bailey, the KTS2 team leader at UTM, described what the program hoped to achieve. “What we’re here for is to provide those resources so that people know what risks to look for, to understand the myths surrounding [gambling], the signs when there actually is a problem, and where to go to get help,” she said.
Students and UTM staff worked with KTS2 to organize the initiative. UTM also made a request for KTS2 to focus more on online gambling during their three-day visit.
During their three days at UTM, over 300 students visited their booth to take a quiz. Students completed five multiple-choice questions and went over the answers with a KTS2 representative.
Afterwards, they were offered a pamphlet on the program, a water bottle, and a magnet with a local hotline and a free, confidential Ontario-wide 24-hour hotline. All those who completed the quiz were also entered in a draw to win an iPad and a $1,500 scholarship in June.
“We’re neither pro nor against gambling,” said Bailey. “It should that be something you choose to do, that you’re doing responsibly.”
UTM is one of 21 campuses the group has visited. Students from the campus are hired and specially trained to help representatives like Bailey.
Bailey said the organization understands that young adults experiment with new activities in their university years, and that gambling is not an exception, and said that young adults 18 to 24 years old are at “the highest risk of developing a gambling problem […] 6.9% of young adults have moderate to severe problem gambling issues”.
More information about the organization can be found at KTS2.ca.
