The peer leadership organization, the Student Speakers Bureau, has established a new resource, the SSB Informer.  This page is characterized by material pertinent to college students, not only at Louisiana Tech University, but across the nation.  The SSB Informer will be updated twice quarterly by members of the Student Speakers Bureau, using information that is of value to their peers in making healthy, wise decisions as well as building resources for academic and personal success. 

Three important topics of interest will be addressed.

• Be a Star... Gaining Resources for Life lists twelve techniques to improve leadership performance and build self confidence.
• Dangers of On-line Profiles and Common Sense Advice catalog information that is truly crucial in this day of on-line communication.
• Do You Have an Alcohol-based Relationship?  This survey measures whether your relationship has a “solid” or “liquid” foundation.

Be a Star…Gaining Resources for Life

These twelve techniques will improve leadership performance, and energize one's self-confidence and self-esteem.  All will assist one with becoming self-actualized.

1. Extend your personal influence.  Meet new people, renew old acquaintances, go places, and make your presence known.
2. Identify the right priorities.  Make a list of top objectives; adhere to them, not allowing lesser or more trivial pursuits to dominate.
3. Improve key relationships.  Begin at home and expand to those significant others. 
4. Anticipate emerging problems.  Practice conscientiousness and perceptiveness.  Have a general contingency plan for decisively dealing with situations.
5. Keep others motivated.  Be complimentary; give credit when credit is due; ask for input; keep expectations high; and be personable.
6. Build personal satisfaction and motivate significant others to do the same.  Look at your accomplishments, attributes, awards, gifts, and talents.
7. Assist others in advancing.  Promoting and supporting others, especially those in need, in beneficial ways is advantageous for all involved.  Recognition of worth and value is the end result. 
8. Plan to make all classes and meetings productive.  Be enthusiastic, objective, organized, and progressive when classes end.
9. Define project objectives.  Do your homework.  Present business and personal goals and objectives with spontaneity if called on to do so.  Positive impressions are the end result.
10. Find hidden opportunities.  This may be that "open door on which golden opportunities seldom knock."  Keep your ears and eyes open.  Study situations that you feel need special attention, or improvement.  Never be reluctant to go beyond yourself to help others.  Your "personal creative touch" could be exactly what is needed.
11. Isolate the "real" problem.  Don't be side-tracked by superfluous and unimportant concerns and problems.  Accentuation of these may be an emotional and physical drain.  Energy is needed for solving "bigger" questions.
12. Sell yourself.  Develop a technique that exudes knowledge, common sense, and confidence.  The association of your name with these qualities and what is "right" will pay big dividends.

Discovering the True Self, D.L. Marker, 2005

Dangers of On-line Profiles

Too much Information can put the user at risk
Undesirables may view your profile and share it with others
You make yourself easily accessible to a wide variety of people
Potentially dangerous situations may develop
Self-incriminating information may follow you and jeopardize your future
Website profile producers can be invasive, allowing less control by the user.

Common Sense Advice

Limit your profile biographically and demographically -  be discrete.
Be honest and sincere in the way your wish to be perceived.
First impressions are difficult to dispel.
Be aware of the image you are projecting and how it may prompt and provoke others.
Consider your reputation.  Information and images most likely will follow you.
Don’t rely solely on internet communication as a major self-esteem booster.

from Self protection in a Cyber World, Rosenberg and Merrill, 2006

Do You Have An Alcohol Based Relationship?
Is it liquid or solid?

1. When you met your current love, which of the following most closely characterized your state of mind?
   1. Stone-cold sober
   2. Completely Intoxicated
   3. Buzzing
2. When you two hang out together, how often is the consumption of alcohol not involved?
   1. About half of the time – you like to party, but you spend down time together too.
   2. Almost always – you’re not big drinkers.
   3. Almost never – you’re pretty much consuming some concoction whenever you’re together.
3. Has there ever been a time when you’ve gotten into a fight with your partner while you were both drunk?
   1. No
   2. Yes, you’ve gotten into drunken spats from time to time.
   3. Yes, you’ve been known to get into nasty fights when you’ve both been drinking. The next day, you usually have only sketchy memories of what the argument was about.
4. Since you met your honey, you’ve been under alcohol’s influence:
   1. More often than before you met
   2. Less often than before you met
   3. Equally as often as before you met
5. Have you ever been drinking together and done something wild that you know you wouldn’t normally have done on your own?
   1. Yes, this happens often.
   2. Yes, but only once or twice
   3. No, never
6. When you and your significant other are feeling romantic, the first thing you do is:
   1. Decide whether you’ll go out or stay in
   2. Kiss
   3. Share a six-pack or a bottle of wine

Scoring:

1. a-1, b-3, c-2
2. a-2, b-1, c-3
3. a-1, b-2, c-3
4. a-3, b-1, c-2
5. a-3, b-2, c-1
6. a-2, b-1, c-3

6-9 Points

Alcohol Dependency Rating: Low

You’ve got many memories that haven’t involved beer, wine, or liquor, and that means there’s a good chance your relationship is built on true mutual affection.  Congratulations, you’ve got a solid foundation.

10-14 Points

Alcohol Dependency Rating: Medium

You and your partner like to drink together pretty frequently, but you throw some non-partying time into the mix too.  To keep from tipping the bottle too much, try taking a vacation from drinking.  A full month on the wagon will tell you if your relationship is solid, or if it’s been alcohol-dependent all along.

15-18 Points

Alcohol Dependency Rating: High

Since you and your significant other have both got a buzz on whenever you’re together, neither of you realizes that your relationship may be on the rocks.  If you have a hard time relating without the help of cocktails, it means you aren’t getting to know each other.  If you really want to make a go of things, start spending alcohol-free time together.  But if losing the alcohol means your love is headed down the drain, get out of this liquid-based relationship before it drowns your both.

A Risky Relationship, American Council for Drug Education

visit www.factsontap.org for more info