This isn't like ANY program about alcohol/hazing you've ever seen…

The year was 1997, and at the end of a night of “bonding” at a fraternity pledge function on the MIT campus, freshman Scott Krueger lay dead in a hospital room as a result of alcohol poisoning. The incident, covered by the local, state and national media, resulted in a multi-million dollar lawsuit brought by the Krueger family. Included in the landmark settlement was a condition that Phi Gamma Delta develop an education program to warn students about the dangers of alcohol abuse, hazing and the risks of binge drinking. As a result, Phi Gamma Delta created a special video called “ Tell Me Something I Don't Know. ”  

Today's students are bombarded with information about responsible choices. This cutting-edge film gets peoples' attention with a realistic and sometimes shocking approach. Tell Me Something I Don't Know chronicles the events of the night that led to Scott's tragic death. The loss suffered by the family, the legal action against members of the fraternity, and an explanation of the effect alcohol poisoning played in Scott's death by the emergency room physician who tried to save Scott's life are all presented in a frank manner. TMSIDK is a cutting-edge multimedia program designed to generate honest/open conversations about risky behaviors. This 2003 Emmy Award winning film was designed to target college and high school viewers and be “like no other educational film” out there. It is fast-paced and merges traditional facts with contextual persuasive messages. Ultimately the learning is not accomplished by viewing alone—but by guided discussion using the accompanying facilitator guide.

Tell Me Something I Don't Know takes a fresh approach to facilitating risk education. TMSIDK sets facilitators up to allow the participants to take the conversation where they want it to go. It is an open-ended education program where guided discussion questions, initiated by a common viewing experience, allow the audience to “lead” the dialogue. From developmental theory and change-theory we know that students can be over-challenged with information they are not prepared to hear and effectively shut-down any incoming information (especially if it is challenging their current lifestyle). If we can meet the student where they are in terms of their readiness to change, and guide them toward a different direction through non-judgmental discourse—then we stand a better chance of behavior change. We have to realize that our successes may be slight; a small step toward thinking about better decisions is a step in the right direction. This is the approach that Phi Gamma Delta takes with TMSIDK.