Grand Valley State University

The ultimate purpose of the ALERT Labs is to empower the majority of students who do not use alcohol and other drugs and those who drink moderately to recognize their majority, while reducing the dangerous and illegal drinking of the minority; and help those who have alcohol and other drug problems to recover.

The three goals of the program are to bring about (1) a decrease in the percentage of Grand Valley State University (GVSU) students who drink dangerously; (2) an increase in the number of underage students who abstain from drinking; and (3) an increase in the number of students who seek recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction.

Using media and interpersonal communication campaigns to correct misperceptions of social norms surrounding alcohol and other drugs is the project’s central prevention strategy. Much of people’s behavior is influenced by perceptions of how peers behave. Through data collection and publicizing of actual alcohol and other drug use norms, the pressures that precipitate alcohol and other drug problems can be relieved.

The project employs the following tactics:

• Passport Program—alcohol- and other drug-free housing and events for abstainers;
• Pathways Recovery Program—sober housing, 12-step meetings, and events for students in recovery;
• Annual Data Collection—interventions and media campaign based on data from students; and
• Media Campaign—publicizing actual alcohol and other drug use norms to correct misperceptions.

The percentage of students engaged in dangerous drinking (“binge” or “heavy drinking”) at GVSU decreased from 37 percent in 1999 to 25 percent in 2006. Overall, misperceptions of the amount of dangerous drinking among students have declined by 33 percent and the behavior of drinking dangerously has declined by 30 percent. From these results, it appears that behavioral change follows perceptual change.