When the Syracuse Orange open the 2011-2012 basketball season on Saturday against the Fordham Rams, there will be some basketball royalty on hand to watch it go down.
Shaquille O’Neal will make an appearance at halftime to rap with the kids about the dangers of binge drinking.
O’Neal, who played for Orlando, the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston during his NBA career, is scheduled to be on campus to direct a public service announcement for the Century Council’s "Stupid Drink" promotion.
The "Stupid Drink" ad campaign was developed by students at Syracuse University. The Century Council, a not-for profit funded by distillers, works to prevent college binge drinking and has sponsored the campaign on campus. Syracuse is one of five universities chosen to implement and further explore potential effectiveness of student-generated campaigns to prevent binge drinking on the nation’s college campuses. The concept promotes responsible drinking. The "Stupid Drink" is the one that occurs between being in control and out of control, according to the program’s authors.