Salve Regina University

Description of the Coalition

In October 1997, administrators from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island and representatives of the town of Newport formed a campus and community coalition, the Salve Regina Community Partnership, to address underage and abusive drinking.

A primary goal of the coalition is to foster greater cooperation and better communication with bar and liquor store owners in the community. The mission of the coalition encompasses the following areas:

- Supporting responsible advertising and marketing strategies for bars, nightclubs, and liquor stores, and identifying advertising that encourages abusive drinking
- Working with legislators and supporting local, state, and federal legislation proposals that target underage and abusive alcohol consumption
- Supporting bar and nightclub management in encouraging patrons to behave responsibly after leaving an establishment
- Developing strategies to address the problems of abusive and underage drinking, and the negative behaviors associated with alcohol abuse

Recently, the coalition has endorsed state legislators who are introducing a Bill aimed at making mandatory keg registration a statewide law. Since a great deal of abusive and underage drinking occurs at so-called "keg parties," the partnership sees this as a key area. This Bill was introduced by Representative Paul Crowley on January 28, 2000 and awaits senate approval.

In the past, the coalition has supported other legislation aimed at changing the process of obtaining duplicate drivers’ licenses in the state of Rhode Island. The coalition requested that the state senate consider legislation requiring additional verification to receive a duplicate license. Under the state’s current system, obtaining a license in Rhode Island is much easier than obtaining a license in neighboring states, which require multiple forms of identification. The proposed changes in Rhode Island would bring its process more in line with the process in other states. The coalition is still working with state administrators and legislators on this initiative, too, having learned that the political and legislative process at the state level is a slow one!

Target Audience

The coalition has multiple target audiences for its activities. A primary target audience is university students, both those who live on campus and those who live off campus. Underage students would be affected by the proposed changes in the process of obtaining a duplicate license that are advocated by the coalition. Both underage students and those over 21 would be affected by increases in the use of responsible advertising and marketing strategies by bars, nightclubs, and liquor stores, as well as more effective server training programs in these establishments. The Rhode Island Senate is another target of the coalition’s activities, since the coalition will request that the senate consider changes in the legislation governing the process of obtaining a duplicate license.

Initiation of the Coalition

Newport is known as a major resort town with a very active nightlife. The problem of preventing underage drinking in this community has been compounded by the ease of obtaining one form of fake IDs in the state of Rhode Island. Currently, only a birth certificate and a social security card are needed to request a duplicate driver’s license. Because these documents do not have photographs, an underage individual can simply use the documents of a friend or sibling who is over the age of 21, and is the same sex and race, and of similar height, to receive a duplicate license from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Once a driver’s license is obtained through this fraudulent process, the license then has a photo of the underage recipient and can be used as a fake ID.

Salve Regina administrators and representatives of the town of Newport formed the Salve Regina Community Partnership partially in response to reports of drinking-related deaths at other colleges and universities in the fall of 1997.

The initial meetings of the coalition were focused on building a sense of solidarity, identity, and mission among the members, and increasing membership. As the coalition developed, the members decided that working to change the process of obtaining a duplicate driver’s license in Rhode Island would be a good focus for the coalition’s efforts to address the problem of underage drinking.

Coalition Membership

Members of the coalition include representatives from local bars, restaurants, and liquor stores; the Newport City Council; the Newport Police Department; the Middletown Police Department; the Newport Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force; the Newport County Community Mental Health Center; Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD); and students and administrators from Salve Regina University, including student affairs personnel and the media director. The coalition is chaired by the associate dean of students at Salve Regina, Gerry Willis. In addition, the coalition has the full support of the president of Salve Regina, Sister Therese Antone.

The coalition plans to include other colleges and universities in Rhode Island in its prevention activities. Coalition members believe that increasing the number of institutions of higher education involved in the coalition will increase the strength of its lobbying voice.

Opportunities

Key stakeholders have become involved in the coalition’s ID initiative, including the president of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association and a member of the Newport City Council.

The coalition has tied into the agendas of key stakeholders to increase their interest in the ID initiative. For example, addressing problems that result from summer crowds, such as noise, is becoming increasingly important to the residents of Newport. In their election campaigns, many incumbent Newport City Council members focused on combating problems related to the summer crowds. Dennis McCoy, a city councilor, joined the Salve Regina Community Partnership in part to work on addressing these problems, and this goal fits in well with the coalition’s agenda.

The coalition gained the support of the hospitality industry, a key stakeholder organization, after inviting Dale Venturini, the hospitality and tourism association president, to speak at a coalition meeting. People involved in the hospitality industry have become interested in the coalition’s efforts since they also support changes in the way duplicate licenses are obtained in Rhode Island. They recognize that underage drinking can result in negative consequences for bar and restaurant owners. Bartenders can be arrested or cited in instances of underage drinking, and the license of an owner can be placed at risk. In one instance at a pub in the town of Newport, three 20-year olds caught with alcohol were fined less than $150 each, but the bartender at the pub faced a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Having these key stakeholders involved in the initiative has been important, and their political connections will be essential to moving the coalition’s work forward.

Obstacles

At first, coalition members faced the obstacle of getting liquor establishments involved in their efforts. Many bar and liquor store owners in Newport did not initially see benefits to participation in the coalition and were also wary of the coalition being an "anti-liquor" group. To overcome this obstacle, coalition organizers, such as the associate dean of students at Salve Regina, spent a great deal of time networking — calling liquor establishments and talking about the benefits of the coalition’s efforts. Coalition members were also careful not to use "anti-liquor" language. Liquor establishments gradually recognized that the coalition’s efforts would help protect their interests by decreasing underage drinking. A decrease in underage drinking would reduce a traditional source of friction between the liquor establishments and the city council and law enforcement. The political and business interests of the liquor establishments therefore supported their participation in the coalition.

Another obstacle faced by the coalition was building solidarity between members. In particular, tension existed at first between representatives of MADD and the liquor establishments. Coalition organizers found that focusing on a galvanizing issue was a way to build solidarity. The first few issues discussed by the coalition were not galvanizing and members did not get actively involved in these issues. Working on the duplicate license issue helped to build solidarity within the coalition and also helped to gain the support of the hospitality industry. Coalition members are continuing to work on building solidarity within the group.

Advice

Organizers of the Salve Regina Community Partnership believe that knowing the community, and what issues are important to the community, is key. In particular, recognizing how the political climate ties into alcohol and other drug prevention is important. In the case of Newport, noise issues are important to local politicians, and focusing on these issues helped encourage the participation of city council members in the coalition. In this way, coalition members can use the energy in the community to carry their initiative forward.

Coalition organizers have also found that the involvement of key stakeholders such as local politicians and community-oriented police is important. The community-oriented policing officers are a key group because they have close contact with local residents and are in touch with residents’ concerns. Support from the university president has also been key.

Outcomes

The efforts of the coalition have received local press coverage. In one instance, coalition members invited the press to a meeting in which the members stated their goal of making it more difficult for an underage individual to obtain a duplicate driver’s license in Rhode Island. All of the local and state papers, including the Providence Journal, a major paper in Rhode Island, picked up this story.

Members have also noticed a change in on-campus advertising after the formation of the coalition. Bars are not allowed to advertise on campus, but in the past, they have tried to post advertisements despite this ban. After local bars began participating in the coalition, there has been a noticeable decrease in this type of advertising on campus.