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Vol.24, No. 03 Sept. 18, 1998

GO ASK ALICE: For Millions of Teenagers Across the World, 'Alice' Has All the Answers -- And Now in Paperback

www.columbia.edu/cu/healthwise/index.html

By Hannah Fairfield

Finding answers to hard-to-ask questions about relationships, sexuality and general health can be daunting, but the recommendation from students is "Go Ask Alice!" Every week, 1,200 questions from 60 countries across the globe are sent to "Go Ask Alice," the website produced by Columbia's Health Education Program.

And now, The "Go Ask Alice" Book of Answers, which hit bookstores on Sept. 1, is available for people who prefer Alice to be dog-eared and portable, rather than electronic.

"We kept asking ourselves how else we could use all the information we generate," said Jordan Friedman, the director of the Health Education Program. "A book made sense for those readers who wanted to read Alice on the subway or have her on their night stand."

But who is Alice?

She is not an individual person with all the answers. Rather, she is comprised of a five-member team of health educators that answer the questions using a variety of sources-- Columbia's Health Service, doctors at the Medical School and a web of national and international health experts. Every week, the five educators update the "Go Ask Alice" site together.

The website, which is accessed by readers more than 2.5 million times a month, covers topics from relationships to emotional health, sexuality to fitness and nutrition. It includes answers to five new questions every week, and contains an archive of over 1,400 questions that Alice has already answered.

In 1993, the site joined the World Wide Web, opening it up to an audience outside of Columbia. It was one of the first question-and-answer sites on the rapidly expanding web. Questions from the award-winning site have appeared in The Jerusalem Times and have been used in health classes in Australia. Its instant popularity surprised Richard Carlson, the director of Columbia's Health Service, of which Alice is a division. "When I saw the numbers coming in, I knew that our health educators had something big," he said. "Alice was a real phenomenon."

It was an immediate success because it met a high demand. Teenagers and college students wanted a place to ask questions where they could be sure of their anonymity (e-mail addresses are purposely scrambled before they reach Alice) and of getting in-depth, non-judgmental answers. They found it in Alice.

People often wonder about the name. "No, it isn't Alice in Wonderland," said Judith Steinhart, the senior health educator who helped produce Alice. She also said it was not a reference to the 1970s novel of the same name or the Jefferson Airplane song White Rabbit . She said the name was chosen because it had the right sound. "We wanted to create warmth in what is often a cold medium," she said. "Someone suggested Alice, and we liked it because it wasn't too slick or too sappy. It just fit."

Steinhart attributes much of the program's success to the depth of knowledge and experience behind the team of educators. "Alice has set a standard for other programs at colleges across the country."

Carlson, whose support has allowed the program to flourish, is impressed with the services the program provides. "We are happy that they interact with students on so many levels," he said. "They answer questions that students may not be able to ask anywhere else."

The mission of the Health Education Program, which recently changed its name from Healthwise to Alice (since the website has such name recognition), is to make wellness and good health a priority among Columbia students, staff and faculty, said Friedman. "We believe that good health can enhance the academic experience, and we want to give people the tools to achieve their goals."

In addition to the website, Alice has many ways of teaching people to take care of themselves. The health educators run workshops for student groups as well as campus-wide seminars and big events. During orientation, they run seminars for stress, sleep and time management, and for solutions to roommate conflicts. Throughout the year, they offer multiple-session seminars for stress management, assertiveness training nutrition and fitness.

"We want to have ongoing conversations with students, and with readers," said Friedman. "Alice talks in the language of people who ask her questions so people know that health education can be accessible--and even entertaining."