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C A T A L Y S T
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Winter 1997 Volume 2 No.2
A Publication of the HIGHER EDUCATION CENTER for ALCOHOL AND OTHER
DRUG PREVENTION; Funded by the U.S. Department of Education
A Message From The Director
SEXUAL ASSAULT ON CAMPUS AND AOD PREVENTION
by William DeJong
It was a commonplace but still troubling headline: "Woman Is Suing
in Assault at Fraternity." The woman, a 20-year-old premed honors
student at the University of Massachusetts, reported to Amherst police
that her attacker pushed her into a basement bathroom, locked the door,
forced her to engage in oral sex, and then attempted to rape and
sodomize her, according to a report in the Boston Globe.
The woman is suing the fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, for failure
to provide adequate security. The party itself, according to the woman's
lawyer, was a "big, brawling party," with more than 100 people. The
alcohol was free. No one checked IDs, and no one monitored the door or
provided other security measures.
The Globe story does not say whether the woman who was attacked
had been drinking or using drugs. Perhaps the reporter failed to ask
about it because, from a legal standpoint, whether the woman in this
case was drinking or using drugs is most likely irrelevant. Or perhaps
the reporter, a woman, thought that even raising the subject would smack
of "blaming the victim" and was off-limits.
Whatever the reason, omitting this aspect of the story is
problematic. If we want to prevent sexual assault, isn't it essential to
look at all the factors involved, including possible alcohol or other
drug use by the victim? A recent report issued by Columbia University's
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), "Substance Abuse and the
American Woman," spoke about the need to "lift the curtains of denial"
that have hidden the problem of women's substance abuse. That applies as
well to news accounts of sexual assaults on campus. Unless we make women
students aware of the facts, how else can we convince them of the danger
in which alcohol and other drug use can place them?
Reaching individual students with this information is important,
but reducing sexual violence among students will require a more
comprehensive approach. College administrators, faculty, and students
are justifiably worried about the level of sexual violence on campus,
much of which is alcohol-related. Many schools are responding with a
variety of date rape prevention programs, including attendance at
compulsory presentations during student orientation, awareness weeks,
and distributing student educational materials, typically brochures or
flyers.
The focus of these efforts has been on raising awareness of the
problem and identifying the steps that individual men and women should
take to avoid dangerous situations. This is a problem that can be
prevented, however, not only by the actions of individual students who
seek to protect themselves but also by the actions of students who work
together to change the campus environment and social norms about
drinking.
The key to making this happen is to channel student anger about
sexual violence into a broader concern about alcohol consumption on
campus. The frequency of this crime underscores the need to move beyond
dealing with individual students who have problems with alcohol to more
sweeping policies that change the social, legal, and economic
environment in which students make decisions about their drinking
behavior, including hosting large parties that get out of control.
--William DeJong, Ph.D., is the director of The Higher Education Center
for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention and a lecturer on health
communication at the Harvard School of Public Health.
DRUG ALERT
Hoffmann-La Roche, the Swiss-based pharmaceutical house that
manufactures Rohypnol, a sedative banned in the United States but legal
in many other countries, has started an ad campaign titled "Watch Your
Drink." In what has been termed "roofie rape," unsuspecting women are
slipped the drug in a drink and become dizzy and disoriented. They then
pass out and have little or no memory of what happened, including cases
of sexual assault.
According to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education (June
28, 1996), reports of suspected Rohypnol-related date rape have sprung
up on campuses from the University of California, Los Angeles, to the
University of Florida.
Increasing reports of problems related to the use of Rohypnol,
known as the "date-rape drug," have lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency (DEA) to ask that it be placed in the same category as heroin,
cocaine, and LSD.
According to DEA spokesman Jim McGivney, before recommending
reclassifying Rohypnol, the agency documented more than 2,400 federal,
state, and local criminal investigations involving the drug between 1993
and March 1996.
The drug is most prevalent in Florida, Texas, and California, but
officials fear that its use is increasing. The Chronicle reports that
police at large universities in those states say they've heard about the
drug, although most say they've had no or only a few reports of its use.
Maggie Gerald, coordinator of the Victim Advocate Program at the
University of Florida Police Department, told the Chronicle that she
first heard about the drug a year ago. Since then, she said, many
students have come forward to tell about using it, and 20 to 25 women
have reported blackouts that made them suspect they had been drugged.
Victim advocates at other public universities in Florida have said that
their students are also using the drug, she adds.
PROMISING PRACTICES ON FIVE CAMPUSES by Maggie Cretella
The U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center for
Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Prevention selected five institutions in
the 1994-1995 Search for Exemplary Campus-Based Alcohol and Other Drug
Prevention Programs. Nominations were sought from among all institutions
of higher education (IHEs) throughout the United States. Programs were
judged against the criteria that follow:
Documentation: documented effectiveness in reducing student AOD use
or in improving the operations or quality of
services provided.
Replicability: appropriateness of the program (or an adaptation of
it) to a large number of other IHEs.
Cost efficiency: reasonable costs for the services delivered, with
demonstrated financial accountability.
Accessibility: willingness of program staff to provide information
to the Center and others.
The following five campuses demonstrated a breadth and depth of
programming; an explicit evaluation strategy meeting a minimum
requirement of trend data and positive changes in knowledge, attitudes,
and behaviors; an institutional commitment to their efforts; and an
ability to meet the needs of special subpopulations on campus while
still addressing overall community prevention efforts.
SUNY at New Paltz—
The State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz lies midway between
metropolitan New York City and Albany, the state capital. Its popularity
and academic reputation have increased over the past several
yearsthrough a concerted effort to change its party-school image to one
of an institution of intellectual rigor and social discipline.
The Options Program, under the leadership of Robin Cohen,
assistant dean of students for student development, and Raymond Schwarz,
assistant vice president of student affairs, is an important part of
that effect. The program is based on a broad prevention philosophy that
includes a service learning model and takes a harm reduction approach to
AOD problem prevention. This model posits that free time is a risk
factor for student AOD use. By building linkages between the campus and
the local community, the program fosters opportunities for personal
development and places students in local volunteer and paid jobs.
Cohen and her staff believe that "taking the backdoor approach to
prevention" rather than one based on strict behavioral limits has helped
widen the horizons and opportunities for students at SUNY at New Paltz.
Northern Illinois—
Located in a suburb northwest of Chicago, Northern Illinois University
(NIU) has a student population of 23,000. Under the direction of Michael
Haines, staff at NIU's Health Enhancement Services implement various
prevention strategies to address AOD-related problems. Its primary
prevention approach is a broad-based media campaign aimed at reducing
binge drinking. The campaign is based on a social influence model and
uses social marketing methods in a variety of media interpersonal
interventions to deliver accurate information aimed at reducing alcohol-
related harm to students.
Since the multifaceted program began in 1989, NIU has reduced
binge drinking and alcohol- related harm by more than 30 percent. Other
prevention efforts are conducted and supported by campus departments.
For example, students can opt to live in alcohol-free residence halls;
prevention information is part of the university's Get Acquainted Packet
for incoming students; and the Programming and Activities Office
presents educational sessions to fraternities and sororities.
According to Haines, this environmental approach to AOD prevention
is "essential to the university's academic mission by keeping students
in school... graduating to become healthy and productive role models and
citizens."
University of Oregon—
The University of Oregon is located near the city center of Eugene.
Because of its proximity to the city center, university activities often
attract high school students and other community members. Because campus
social events are interwoven with those of the larger community, AOD use
by underage students is a joint campus and community concern, prompting
the convening of a campus-community task force to address AOD-related
problems.
Prevention efforts on campus are a result of decentralized
coalitions and projects created to address AOD-related issues that come
to the attention of prevention staff. These projects are administered by
Linda Devine, associate dean of students and AOD coordinator. Prevention
staff provide support to a cadre of trained student mentors.
One program developed through campus coalition efforts is the
Building Community Freshman Seminar Program. The original project,
funded by a FIPSE grant, was a collaborative effort developed by
faculty, administrators, and staff as an adjunct to the undergraduate
curriculum. They designed a course aimed at fostering social ties for
incoming undergraduates as well as addressing issues related to
students' AOD.
Other activities initiated by students affiliated with the
Building Community program are the Ballroom Dance Club, Blues Without
Booze, and Fun Without Drunk, all campuswide AOD-free activities.
According to Devine, the University of Oregon's coalition approach
allows "more [to be] accomplished with fewer resources... and begins to
institutionalize a prevention-oriented mind-set within the campus
community."
University of Missouri—
The University of Missouri at Columbia is located in a small town
surrounded by a rural agricultural region. Campus-based prevention
efforts have routinely been the result of coalition building and
collaboration, and those efforts have expanded to include the
surrounding community.
The University received its first FIPSE grant six years ago,
creating Project ADAPT (Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team). A
dedicated group of peer educators comprises the workforce and energy
behind ADAPT's programming. Peer educators work with students to promote
a positive, nonjudgmental attitude toward wellness and use a harm
reduction approach to AOD use. One of the featured projects of ADAPT is
its "Don't Cancel That Class" program: If a professor is ill or is
absent for other reasons, peer educators go into classrooms to
facilitate a discussion on AOD issues.
Over the past several years, ADAPT has expanded its prevention
efforts to make them campus- and communitywide. When its last FIPSE
grant ended, the university fully funded the expansion of ADAPT and a
Wellness Resource Center. ADAPT has received a small grant from a local
group, called Community 2000, to conduct a study on where, when, and why
students drink at Columbia bars.
Kim Dude, assistant director of student life, advocates for
student involvement in all aspects of prevention. Collaboration with
academic departments as well as those within student affairs is
important for an ongoing "seamless" prevention effort. She says that the
most important group to collaborate with is the students.
Western Washington-- Western Washington University (WWU) is located in
Bellingham, a small coastal town in the northwestern part of Washington
State. With two-thirds of its students living off-campus in local rental
housing, WWU makes significant efforts to build bridges and find common
ground with the surrounding community. The university's commitment to
wellness and AOD prevention also has the highest levels of executive and
administrative support.
WWU received its first FIPSE grant in 1993, and launched the WE
CAN program. Through the use of a nontraditional, peer-based model and
alliances with campus and local community members, the program strives
to generate broad-based normative and behavioral change.
Under the leadership of the Wellness Center Director Pat Fabiano,
WWU has trained 150 student lifestyle advisers to serve as "health
opinion leaders." These students promote campuswide discussions about
the effects of AOD use on academic performance, personal relationships,
health, and employability, as well as other health-related issues. These
lifestyle advisers gave more than 9,000 hours of service to the campus
community. The program was named Outstanding Wellness Project of the
Year by the Washington Substance Abuse College Task Force.
In cooperation with a Whatcom County task force that includes
representatives from campus, community, and licensed establishments, WE
CAN has formed a Hospitality Resource Panel. It hopes to develop
cooperative strategies for implementing responsible hospitality
principles and practices "to reduce the harm from inappropriate use of
alcohol."
--Maggie Cretella is a research associate with the Higher Education
Center.
Success Stories: CURRICULUM INFUSION ON TWO CAMPUSES by Ron Glick
The Network for Dissemination of Curriculum Infusion (NDCI) at
Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago recently completed an
analysis of successful curriculum infusion programs. Based on a study of
all FIPSE-funded programs that carried out curriculum infusion between
1989 and 1993, NDCI selected five exemplary programs. An additional 11
colleges and universities received honorable mention certificates for
their work on curriculum infusion for alcohol and other drug prevention.
This article describes the curriculum infusion work of two of the
exemplary programs selected by NDCI. They are Shenandoah College in
Winchester, Virginia, and Colorado State University in Fort Collins,
Colorado.
Shenandoah College-- Shenandoah College has an enrollment of 1,400
residential and commuter students. By October 1995, when NDCI concluded
its analysis, 26 Shenandoah faculty were integrating prevention content
into courses across the curriculum and additional faculty were being
added to the curriculum infusion group. Prevention content had been
assigned for courses in nine departments from four divisions of the
university and reached 700 students per academic year. Courses included
biology, anatomy and physiology, business and management, psychology,
philosophy, occupational therapy, education, and dance.
In many cases, the prevention content designed for courses at
Shenandoah is similar to the approaches of faculty at other institutions
with curriculum infusion programs. For example, in anatomy and
physiology, a course required of many Shenandoah students, the
instructor integrated information on the physiological harm of alcohol
and other drugs. In other cases the prevention content was highly
creative. In the dance course, for example, students wrote poetry about
their experiences with and perceptions of the effects of alcohol and
other drugs, choreographed their poetry and performed before fellow
students.
The experiences at Shenandoah College illustrate why development
of effective curriculum infusion programs take time. There was a
snowball effect as faculty learned of curriculum infusion from their
colleagues and from the successful campus marketing of program director
Judy Landes. She kept faculty informed of their colleagues' success in
integrating prevention content with their courses.
In fall 1993, shortly after FIPSE funded the college for
curriculum infusion, only one faculty member was involved. By April
1995, 12 faculty had developed prevention modules. At the time of NDCI's
site visit in October 1995, the number was 26 and growing.
When NDCI staff met with 10 faculty members participating in
curriculum infusion, they offered a number of reasons for their
involvement, including the $500 incentive for completing a write-up of
their prevention module. But that wasn't the only reason cited, and for
many faculty the money was not the most compelling incentive. Other
reasons included the positive influence of the program director,
personal encounters with alcohol and other drugs, a desire to help
students, and a belief that the prevention content strengthened their
courses.
Shenandoah's vice president for student affairs, William Berghaus,
Ph.D., said, "This is the first time in my more than 20 years in higher
education that I've seen faculty involved and enthused about this issue.
They've become more sensitized. It's exciting to see."
Berghaus was pleased to see positive student responses and
believes that curriculum infusion is more effective than receiving anti-
substance abuse messages through student affairs programming. According
to Berghaus, Shenandoah did not have a history of work between student
affairs and academic affairs. "This is a real breakthrough," he said.
Colorado State University-- Colorado State University (CSU) is a
residential campus with 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
Curriculum infusion at CSU has involved 41 faculty members teaching 35
sections in 22 courses. Prevention content has been integrated with
courses in 19 departments across five divisions of the university:
agriculture, business, natural sciences, forestry and liberal arts. In
an academic year more than 2,900 students attend classes with prevention
content.
While half the faculty involved in curriculum infusion at CSU
developed the prevention content for the courses they teach, a
distinctive feature of the program is the active involvement of program
coordinator Maureen Conway in the design and delivery of alcohol and
other drug prevention curricula.
In some courses, Conway serves as the guest lecturer, delivering
prevention content she has designed to fit a course. For example, her
presentation in a business and management course provides information on
losses in productivity attributable to alcohol and other drug use and
the role managers can play in treatment and prevention.
In other cases, she co-teaches course sessions devoted to
prevention. She serves as the "client" in graphics arts classes where
students design prevention campaign posters in response to her
description of alcohol and other drug problems among students.
The experience of CSU indicates the potential impact of prevention
personnel who know and work well with faculty members. Some told NDCI
staff that they became involved in curriculum infusion because of their
relationship with the program coordinator, who had been a guest speaker
in their courses or to whom they had referred students experiencing
alcohol and other drug problems.
Participating faculty also indicated that they got involved
because prevention information strengthened the curriculum as well as
helping students. A small incentive--a $125 gift certificate--was
provided to faculty who carried out curriculum infusion at Colorado
State.
CSU has not conducted formal pre-post testing of curriculum
infusion. However, faculty members interviewed by NDCI staff offered
examples of favorable outcomes. They pointed to students who came to
them for help and were referred to counseling as a result of alcohol and
other drug information included in their courses. Other students said
that the prevention curriculum had affected their decisions about using
alcohol and other drugs. One instructor reported a change in both
faculty and graduate student attitudes toward binge drinking. Following
integration of prevention content in the curriculum, alcohol and other
drug use by students was seen as a problem and taken seriously.
Colorado State's two assistant vice presidents for student affairs
indicate that an additional factor contributing to the success of
curriculum infusion on that campus is the use of curriculum infusion to
address other issues, such as gender and diversity. They also point to a
history of collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs
at CSU.
At commuter colleges and universities, where students have little
time for extracurricular activities, curriculum infusion is the most
effective way to reach a significant number of students. Conway notes a
similar experience at CSU, where it was often difficult to gain
participation in student affairs prevention programming. She also
emphasizes that CSU students are more focused and thoughtful in the
classroom, and therefore more receptive to prevention messages. The
experience of CSU illustrates the value of curriculum infusion at a
large residential university.
NDCI will publish a monograph on its analysis of successful
curriculum infusion programs this fall. A set of video materials
introducing the curriculum Infusion process and video materials on
faculty training for curriculum infusion are available for purchase from
NDCI, which also conducts workshops and consultation for the development
of curriculum infusion programs in higher education. For additional
information, contact the Network for Dissemin-ation of Curriculum
Infusion at Northeastern Illinois University, 5500 North St. Louis,
Chicago, Illinois 60625; tel.: (312)794-6697.
--Ron Glick is a professor of sociology and the director of the Network
for Dissemination of Curriculum Infusion at Northeastern Illinois
University.
CENTER PUBLICATIONS
Order at no cost.
The Higher Education Center has a number of publications in its
inventory that are available at no cost to those working at colleges and
universities. In addition, most publications are also available on our
Web page, and can be downloaded for use on your campus. The following
publications in inventory may be of particular interest.
BULLETINS, GUIDES, AND FLYERS:
Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention: A Bulletin for Fraternity and
Sorority Advisors (bulletin, 39 pages). This bulletin is directed
at the specific audience of Greek life advisors.
Binge Drinking on Campus: Results of a National Study (bulletin, 8
pages). This publication presents the finding of the Harvard
study on high-risk drinking by students at four-year colleges and
universities. It presents information in a clear, concise manner.
Preventing Alcohol-Related Problems on Campus: Substance-Free
Residence Halls (bulletin, 30 pages). This bulletin is directed at
chief housing officers and directors of residence life and provides
advice on how to establish substance-free housing.
C3RBS's Special Event Guidebook (See article on page 7.)
Preventing Alcohol-Related Problems on Campus: Alcohol Impaired
Driving (guide, 71 pages). This publication presents information on
alcohol-impaired driving and includes a range of strategies and
responses specific to colleges and universities.
Prevention Update: Responsible Hospitality Programs (2 page flyer)
Setting and Improving Policies for Reducing Alcohol and Other Drug
Problems on Campus: A Guide for School Administrators (guide, 114
pages). This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the policy-
setting process at IHEs and includes recommended policy strategies.
The Environmental Assessment Instrument: A New Tool for Targeting
Substance Abuse Prevention in Higher Education (current research
summary, 12 pages). This publication summarizes the work of Lorand B.
Szalay in developing the Environmental Assessment Instrument.
Looking at Binge Drinking at Four-Year Colleges: User's Guide
(software and manual, 14 pages). This manual and software package is
intended to help IHEs predict the rate of binge drinking on their
campuses, based on a statistical model using data from the Harvard
study.
PERIODICALS:
The Law, Higher Education, and Substance Abuse Prevention, Winter
1995 and Summer 1995 (newsletters, 8 pages). These two newsletters
include information about legal issues surrounding alcohol and
other drug use and problem prevention for colleges and universities.
Prevention File: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs, Vol.11, No.2,
Spring 1996 (magazine, 24 pages). This themed issue of the
quarterly magazine published by University of California, San Diego
focuses on prevention issues in higher education.
Send request to: The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug
Prevention Education Development Center, Inc. 55 Chapel Street Newton,
MA 02158-1060
Name ________________________________________________________________
School/Organization _________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip _______________________ / _________ / ________________
Phone __________ - __________ - _____________
E-mail ______________________________________________________________
AMA BINGE DRINKING PROJECT
The American Medical Association has embarked on a new national
initiative to take aim at binge drinking among college students. Its
Office of Alcohol and Other Substances, based in Chicago, will manage
$20 million in grant money for addressing two issues: alcohol prevention
and binge drinking among young people on college and university
campuses. Funding comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in
Princeton, New Jersey.
Richard Yoast, Ph.D., will direct the new AMA project. Yoast was
director of the Wisconsin American Stop Smoking Intervention Study
(ASSIST). Prior to that he was the executive director of the Wisconsin
Clearinghouse and Prevention Resource Center on Alcohol and Other Drugs.
When announcing the new prevention initiative, AMA board chair
Nancy Dickey, M.D., said: "Binge-drinking by young people is a major
public health program that we can no longer ignore."
The AMA commissioned a national poll last winter to ask about the
drinking habits of Americans aged 18 to 30. The findings confirmed other
national surveys: the level of drinking prevalent among young Americans
is very high.
"When 40 percent of young Americans admit to excessive drinking
and 20 percent to binge drinking--and when 20 percent of those who drink
admit to driving drunk--we must take dramatic steps to safeguard the
lives and health of our young people and to protect the society in which
they live," Dickey said.
"Heavy drinking can cause or contribute to a number of problems
for youth," said Steven A. Schroeder, M.D., president of the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, "such as poor academic performance and school
failure, assault, automobile accidents and resulting fatalities,
recreational injuries, violence and risky behavior such as unprotected
sex."
The AMA project has invited eight universities to apply for
grants, each providing about $150,000 annually for five years to address
binge drinking among colleges and university students.
For additional information on the AMA project call Richard Yoast,
director of the AMA Office of Alcohol and Other Substances, at (312)
464-4202, or e-mail him at Yoast@ama-assn.org.
CONSORTIA AND CURRICULUM: SYNERGY AND NEW ENERGY by Peter Myers
Curriculum infusion is one of higher education's success stories.
It involves those who interact daily with the student body--the faculty-
-and moves prevention out of a "student affairs ghetto" and into the
mainstream of campus intellectual life, multiplying the prevention
message many times over. Another success story in the decade of FIPSE
has been the campus consortium, the virtues of which have been sung in
these pages (see Catalyst, Vol.2, No.1, Summer 1996).
Some consortia have sought to put these proven activities
together. The Alliance database project identified seven examples of
consortia-based curriculum infusion efforts. In New Jersey, a statewide
campus prevention consortium has existed for about a decade with support
from the New Jersey Department of Health, Division of Addiction
Services. The group applied for a FIPSE consortium grant for the sole
purpose of adding a curriculum infusion component. It is implemented in
three regions of the state.
I coordinated efforts in the Northern Region under the leadership
of grant director Linda Jeffrey, Ph.D., of Rowan University, who is also
the grant officer from the Department of Health. Each region developed
local consortia under the now expired FIPSE grants, continuing their
efforts with a small state subsidy.
That these local groups continue to prosper under a unified state
umbrella is in itself terrific. But to tell the truth, you do start to
run out of steam when you meet over and over for seven years. The
counselors in our meeting were astounded when 14 faculty members arrived
to discuss prevention. Readers of the Catalyst know how difficult it is
to involve faculty. The consortium is the perfect context to involve the
diverse individuals who have some interest in drug and alcohol issues,
aside from addiction counselor training programs. Not surprisingly,
counselors from the same colleges who were also at the meeting had never
met faculty members.
I believe that the design of the project is crucial. Start from
the top down by writing to each college president, who will hand your
letter to the chief academic officer. Include incentives, such as a
stipend or a chance to be included in a manual (a publication for
promotion). Once these individuals meet faculty members involved in
curriculum infusion, the intellectual give-and-take and the supportive
environment will provide further reinforcement.
The New Jersey project also featured a training in the first year
of the project from the Network for Dissemination of Curriculum Infusion
(NDCI), a national project supported by FIPSE (see page 6). A newsletter
can help spread the word among more faculty in the second phase of the
project. Some participants will continue with the consortium, adding
manpower and energy. The individual institutional efforts are
strengthened.
In addition to using curriculum infusion to bring faculty members
to prevention consortia, it could act as a motivation to start a new
consortium where none had existed. I believe this has occurred in other
settings, such as curriculum infusion of multicultural or gender issues.
Prevention did not invent infusion; nor did it invent consortia.
Allow faculty to participate at various levels of involvement.
Some will observe, participate in discussions, and increase their
involvement in Year 2. Others will go the other way, putting in a lot of
energy in the first year, and mentoring or attending meetings only
occasionally in later years. Also, there is a tendency to involve mainly
psychology and sociology faculty. But the impact of the curriculum
infusion will be greater by involving other disciplines, such as
English, history, and biology.
--Peter L. Myers, Ph.D., is the director of the Addiction Counselor
Training Program at Essex County College, Newark, New Jersey, and a
regular contributor to Catalyst.
MIND YOUR P'S AND Q'S by Jim Peters
Life should be measured in moments rather than years, for it is moments
that define our relationships, our values, and our place in the
community. For many, it is through social events and gatherings that
these moments occur.
Celebrations for birthdays, graduations, awards, weddings,
anniversaries, new jobs, promotions, holidays, and other milestones
bring us together with family and friends. Our relationships with others
are enhanced through these gatherings, and often we meet new people and
establish a foundation for future celebrations of life passages.
The serving of beer, wine, and spirits is traditionally tied to
these celebrations, and for many the consumption of these beverages
enhances the experience. Some of our common expressions and customs have
their roots in the drinking of alcoholic beverages. For example, the
custom of "toasting" derives from a practice of putting bread into beer
to enhance its flavor. As the host passed the beer from guest to guest,
they shared the beverage. When the glass returned to the host, he would
remove the bread and eat it, honoring his guests. While we no longer
practice this ritual, the expression "toasting our guests" means
celebrating their presence at our event.
For most of us, the responsible consumption of alcoholic beverages
is something we learn so that we may enjoy the pleasurable effects
without experiencing harm. For some, however, the inappropriate use of
these beverages results in tragic moments and memories, including
damaged or destroyed relationships or, even worse, injury or death
related to intoxication.
Hosts of events and celebrations can play an important role in
enhancing the experience of guests, and reducing the risk of harm. The
moment of contact between the host and guest can be a defining moment of
prevention. By taking the proper steps in planning events, the host can
simultaneously create a memorable and safe occasion. Again, custom
defines this responsibility.
In the old tavern, the bartender kept a chalkboard behind the bar
listing the pints and quarts of ale a customer drank. The tavernkeeper
who minded his p's and q's did not lose any money. At the same time, the
customer who was drinking too much or whose behavior was getting out of
control was told to "mind your p's and q's" or "mind your pints and
quarts." Host responsibility is the practice of satisfying the needs of
the guest for food and beverage but also creating an environment that is
safe and comfortable.
To aid in the process of responsible hospitality, the California
Coordinating Council on Responsible Beverage Service (C3RBS) developed a
20-page event planner's guide. Presented in a checklist format, the
Special Event Guidebook provides detailed information regarding the
steps an event planner can take to control the abuse of alcoholic
beverages and reduce the potential of someone being harmed and the
resulting legal liability this can create. Divided into three sections -
-before, during, and near the end of the event--the guide incorporates
common themes of host responsibility. (See "Suggestions for Safer
Events" below)
The key question for event planners is whether they will serve
alcohol at all. For some events, such as those where many participants
may be underage, alcoholic beverages may be inappropriate or
undesirable.
--Jim Peters is the executive director of the Responsible
Hospitality Institute in Scotts Valley, California.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SAFER EVENTS
Food service. Food slows the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream
and inhibits intoxication. Make sure that plenty of food is available,
that it is easy to eat, and that it is served throughout the event.
Alternative beverages. More than 40 percent of the adult population
report that they abstain from alcoholic beverages. Always have plenty of
adult alternative beverages available, such as nonalcoholic beers and
wines, cider, juice, bottled water, and soft drinks. Be creative in your
selection of alternatives, and when there will be underage people, use
different glassware for alcoholic beverages to prevent the passing of
drinks.
Activities. Do not make drinking the focus of the event. Provide
activities such as entertainment, dancing, and games. Set up the room so
as to facilitate conversations and small-group gatherings. Arrange
tables and chairs to encourage people to meet and talk.
Discouraging intoxication. Establish a no tolerance policy for
intoxication. Not only do people who become intoxicated increase your
liability risk and face harm to themselves or others, but also their
behavior may offend your other guests, decreasing their enjoyment of
your event.
Youth access. If underage people will be at the event, involve them in
planning, arrange special activities for them, and make plenty of
alternative beverages available. Advise adults that providing alcoholic
beverages to underage people not only is against the law but also
creates risk of harm.
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Copies of the C3RBS's Special Event Guidebook are available from
the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. To
request free copies, contact the Center (see section on Center
Publications).
For more information on responsible hosting practices, get the
Center publication Prevention Update: Responsible Hospitality Programs.
This two-page flyer introduces concepts of responsible hosting at
colleges and universities and includes descriptions of campus-based
activities and a list of additional resources.
************************************************************************
CATALYST is a publication of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol
and Other Drug Prevention funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
The interpretations and conclusions reported, and opinions expressed do
not purport to reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of
Education.
Editor: Barbara E. Ryan
Copyright 1996 by Education Development Center, Inc. Permission to
reprint articles is granted for noncommerical use with acknowledgment.
We would appreciate receipt of any publication carrying a reprinted
Catalyst article.
Center Staff: William DeJong, Tom Colthurst, Maggie Cretella, Michael
Gilbreath, Judy Jacobs, Peter G. Leis, Jeanne Martakos, Catherine
Meikle, Tonya Miller, Michael Rosati, Barbara Ryan, Ellen Thomas, Judy
Robinson
Publication No. ED/OPE97-1
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES Updates on training events are on the Center's
Web site: .
To be added to the mailing list to receive specific announcements of
Center and Network training, contact the Center.
HOW TO REACH US... The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other
Drug Prevention is located at:
The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention
Education Development Center, Inc. 55 Chapel Street Newton, MA 02158-
1060
Phone: (800) 676-1730 Fax: (617) 969-5979; E-mail:
; Web site:
Visit our resource room when you are in the nation's capital. The Center
maintains a library resource room at:
Social & Health Services, Ltd. (SHS)
11426 Rockville Pike
Suite 100
Rockville, MD 20852
Please call (301) 770-5800 for an appointment. SHS also houses NCADI,
which also has a library you can visit.
The Future of THE NETWORK
FUTURE: That period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends
are true, and our happiness is assured.
The Network is dependent upon volunteers, not only individuals but
concerned institutions of higher education (IHEs). Its livelihood is the
outcome of the work of dedicated members who believe that there is value
in communicating mutual concerns about methods of addressing and
resolving the issues related to reducing alcohol and other drug (AOD)
use and abuse on their respective campuses. Network members also believe
that this communication can be achieved effectively and economically.
Finally, members agree that the totality of their effort is in the
nation's interest and, consequently, closely related to national policy.
More specifically, the Network is sponsored by the U.S. Department of
Education Drug and Violence Prevention Program and coordinated with the
Higher Education Center.
Network Membership
IHEs become Network members through documentation from the campus CEO,
or other senior member of the management team, that the institution is
committed to the goals of the Network as promulgated through its
guidelines. A second requirement is to provide the Higher Education
Center with the name of a person who will serve as the campus
representative.
The basic responsibility of the campus representative is to
receive Network information and process it in the best interests of the
campus and the Network. Network membership admits the campus into the
various communication lines providing information about AOD workshops,
conferences, meetings, recent research reports, other data, and
newsletters.
The Newtork and campus administration representative decide on the
level of participation by both. The Network is divided into regions in
order to be as responsive as possible to regional campus interests. To
advance these interests, the campus representative may wish to become
active in various leadership opportunities. Such opportunities include,
but are not limited to, serving on committees to plan conferences or
address issues, serving on steering committees, and serving as a
regional coordinator. Institutions support and assist campus personnel
in these roles.
Current Uncertainties
Uncertainties created by the launching of the Higher Education Center
and budgetary issues creating downsizing have contributed to a loss of
momentum by the Network recently, but at this writing it is adjusting to
these matters. The new contractor for the Center has assumed
responsibilities with enthusiasm and embraces Network activities. The
Network is involved in redefining its role in view of these unfolding
realities.
New Technology and the Network
Another important development since the Network began is the increasing
use of technology for sharing information through such techniques as
television downlinks that permit "sky classes" and "television
conferencing." The use of the Internet permits access to the Library of
Congress and many campus libraries as well.
Yet, some IHEs--for example community colleges--depend solely on
regional activities such as networking and newsletters for AOD
information. The Network is sensitive to these IHEs and is available to
provide students, faculty, and staff with up-to-date AOD information.
Despite the excitement generated by these new communication channels, it
is very unlikely that any of them will supplant the effectiveness of in-
person, face-to-face conversations.
The Network has discovered through its myriad meetings over the
years that small "drive-in" meetings are the most productive and
apparently satisfy participants. This type of meeting is economical;
provides for open discussion, problem solving, and sharing of
information; and, perhaps most important, can be arranged on relatively
short notice and done frequently and inexpensively. Such meetings are
often theme- or topic-focused.
Network Flexibility is Important
Another distinct advantage of the Network's approach to addressing
campus AOD issues is its ability to be self-correcting. As new knowledge
and new realities surface, it can readily adapt this information to
develop or amend policies, principles, and strategies. The Network came
into existence in response to a need for self-regulating initiatives
capable of addressing the campus environment. It was a recognition that
the nation's colleges and universities and the locales in which they are
established are by no means monolithic.
Network Effectiveness
A particular strength of the Network is the ability to assist
neighboring members by translating new information or directives into
practices responsive to the local scene, delivered by local individuals.
A recent example of the potency of the regional coordinators and their
volunteer efforts in one region was a result of their work and that of
other members of the steering committee. Network members contacted more
than 3,000 campus personnel interested in AOD prevention. This occurred
following a single conference, with subsequent meetings, workshops, and
quarterly newsletters. A further result was the establishment of AOD
consortia throughout the region.
Network Funding
Currently, the U.S. Department of Education, through the Higher
Education Center, assists the 21 regions by providing them with modest
financial grants. Typically, these funds are administered through a
campus where the regional coordinator is employed. Funds are managed by
the coordinator and subject to annual audits by the campus and the
Center. Coordinators use these funds primarily to develop meetings and
conferences within the regions. The funds also defray costs for
newsletters and other correspondence. The value of these funds is
multiplied many times because of the number of volunteers who make up
the Network and the multiple partnerships that have developed over the
years.
If the Network is able to continue its effectiveness, it is not
impossible to envision its expansion to additional regions and/or
states. But much remains to be done. Current grants to regions are not
based on the number of colleges and universities in the region or on the
number of students served. A more equitable distribution needs to be
developed. The regional expansion became arrested as the Higher
Education Center strove to gain identity and refine its mission and
procedure. The result is that a few regions need to be reviewed because
of their geographic size or population.
Long-Range Planning
The completion of a long-range plan for the Network is essential. Now
that the Higher Education Center appears to have its course charted and
is well along in meeting the requirements of its contract, the Network
has a far better notion of its relation to the Center and the U.S.
Department of Education. It remains for these interrelationships to be
articulated within a feasible blueprint for the future.
In the beginning, the Planning Group mirrored the membership of
the Interassociation Task Force (a group of volunteers representing
national associations closely pertaining to student affairs programs on
college and university campuses and concerned with problems related to
the consumption of alcohol by college students) and received
endorsements from approximately 20 higher education associations. That
relationship needs to be reexamined.
National Conference
In its early years, the Network sponsored a national conference targeted
to middle and upper campus management personnel. Recently, that
conference was combined with the National Meeting for Drug Prevention
Programs in Higher Education/FIPSE grantees. Attendees at the FIPSE
national meeting were obligated to be present and their attendance was
fully underwritten by their grants. The focus of the agenda was on AOD
campus program directors and practitioners. Sessions were specifically
designed to help personnel supported by the two-year grants.
Consequently, the program was less attractive to campus managers and
their attendance at the meeting declined.
Staffing
Another item of importance is the recruitment and retention of personnel
who serve as regional coordinators. Because the assignment is voluntary
and the support of the individual's campus essential, this relationship
must be unequivocal and explicitly stated.
As the Network nears the end of its first decade of existence,
with nearly 1,500 colleges and universities as members, its operations
need to be positioned for the future. The need for cost effective, self-
correcting campus-based AOD programs are greater than ever. The
Network's leadership, persistence, and grassroots connections play a
very important role in enhancing these efforts. Nevertheless, the
Network must address the preceding points as part of the process of
adapting to the future. The present budget crisis and instability of
government initiatives is challenging previous methods of operation. The
Network must continue to create new partnerships to sustain its future
effectiveness. Its strength lies in the commitment of its membership. --
Lyle Edmison is co-chair of the Network Executive Committee.
CALIFORNIA COALITION TARGETS HIGHER EDUCATION
The California Council on Alcohol Policy and the Trauma Foundation
at San Francisco General Hospital, cosponsors of a statewide prevention
coalition proposal to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, have reached
out to the California Region of the Network.
Annette Padilla, M.P.H., with San Diego State University--a
longtime Network member institution--is coordinating the higher
education component for the proposal. She has secured cooperation from
California Network regional co-chairs Judy Chambers (University of the
Pacific) and Lyle Edmison (Cal State Hayward--emeritus).
The multifaceted proposal envisions training and program
development support for college students, staff, and faculty and for
community leaders. Also anticipated are media action, prevention policy
development and enforcement, and measures to reduce high-risk alcohol
promotion.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will make a total of $10.2
million available in 12 grants, ranging from $0.5 to $1.3 million over a
four-year period. The aim is to reduce underage drinking and alcohol-
related problems among youth.