Many people strive to be healthy by exercising and eating a balanced diet, but health encompasses much more than physical well-being, said Dr. Peg Spear, director of University Health Services (UHS).

"The word 'health' comes from a root that means whole or healed," she said. "Health encompasses the mental, physical, social, emotional, spiritual and environmental aspects of a person's life."

Spear was a speaker at "Making Connections," the first annual Student Health Networking Reception last Tuesday. About 20 organizations concerned with various aspects of health attended, including Allies, Emergency Medical Services Association and the Student Nutrition Association.

This event was held by UHS and the Undergraduate Student Government to gain support for the formation of the Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students (BACCHUS) and Greeks Advocating Mature Management of Alcohol (GAMMA) Peer Education Network, said Rose Moffitt, Undergraduate Student Government student health committee chair.

"The eye doesn't know what the hand is doing," she said. "BACCHUS will keep all the different health organizations connected and help them engage members from other groups. Many clubs are very successful alone, but we could be much more successful together"

BACCHUS began in 1975 at the University of Florida as a student leadership organization that addressed student alcohol abuse, according to www.bacchusgamma.com. The program expanded to include GAMMA, which reached out to fraternity and sorority students. As a result of this new branch, the organization's name was changed to the BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network.

The organization expanded to include any health topic pertinent to students, including tobacco addictions, eating disorders and sexually transmitted diseases. It now has 1,000 active chapters internationally, including one at Penn State Abington and DuBois, said Bridget Daly, council of commonwealth student government student affairs director.

"There's a lot of student apathy about student health," she said. "There might be only 30 to 40 students interested out of a campus of 14,000. This is a great opportunity to include students in the Penn State community."

The organization focuses on advocacy, public relations, workshops, research, recruitment and campaigns, Moffitt said. It will help member organizations with their events by providing trained students. It will also be a way for organizations to know what other organizations are doing. The focus of all the organizations is to educate their fellow students about health.

"Students are more apt to listen to their peers than to people are older than them," she said.

Moffitt got the idea of BACCHUS from Vice President of Student Affairs Vicky Triponey last September. Triponey had worked at the University of Connecticut, where there is a chapter of BACCHUS.

"She was surprised that we didn't have a chapter here," Moffitt said. "She encouraged me to start a group here to change the attitude of students."

The organization is still in its developmental stage, Moffitt said. Now that organizations have had a chance to network and meet each other at the reception, BACCHUS can begin forming committees and organizing other meetings.

"All these groups really care about other people," said Swati Kasat, a HealthWorks peer educator. "Together they have a very holistic view of health."