Grand Valley State University

Background
ALERT Labs is a comprehensive prevention and recovery support program that began as a pilot program in fall 1998 and was formally institutionalized in fall 1999. GVSU was a recipient of a U.S. Department of Education grant through its Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Models on College Campuses Grant Competition in fiscal year 2004 to expand ALERT Labs to include enhanced community outreach and a policy review.

The target audience is first-year students, with other students, faculty, and staff as the secondary audience. ALERT Labs employs an environmental management approach with the central focus on social norms as interpreted from a “communication and social construction of reality” theoretical perspective.

In 1998-99, ALERT Labs conducted surveys and found that all student groups have serious misperceptions about the amount of substance use among their peers. When it began its prevention program in 1999, dangerous (i.e., high-risk) drinking was practiced by 37 percent of the student population, but freshmen misperceived the rate of weekly drinking as 92 percent. As at nearly all universities each fall, some freshmen enter who already have the disease of addiction and/or experience with heavy alcohol and other drug abuse. Others who may never have abused alcohol and other drugs begin drinking heavily and/or become addicted during their first year. By the end of that year, those who have not experienced one of ALERT Labs’ interventions report heavy use (e.g., dangerous drinking rates in the 35 percent to 40 percent range).

Program Summary
The ultimate goal of ALERT Labs is to empower the majority, that is, those students who do not drink dangerously, to claim their rights to freedom from the “spill over” (secondary) effects of dangerous drinking and drug use, such as any and all disruptive, self-destructive, and/or hazardous behavior resulting from intoxication. In addition, ALERT Labs provides students with an opportunity to work with faculty, staff, and other students on projects focused on preventing the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. It employs a number of strategies and activities under an over-arching environmental management approach to meet that goal, including the following:

• Offer alcohol-free social and recreational options. The Passport Social Mentoring Program provides an opportunity for incoming freshmen to partner with upper-class students who serve as mentors assisting students with their adjustment to campus life without alcohol. Passport sponsors social programs, peer education activities, and a weekend “overnighter” that attracts over 2,000 students.
• Create health-promoting normative environment. The central strategy in the campus program is to correct misperceptions of social norms surrounding alcohol use via media and interpersonal communication campaigns. In 1999, ALERT Labs began collecting data and reporting actual drinking norms to the campus. Using a communication and social norms approach, the campaign includes the use of videos, newspaper ads, flyers, t-shirts, and other materials—including posters designed by students for students—to convey the true drinking behaviors and correct campus misperceptions of use.
• Restrict marketing and promotion of alcohol. Through a revision in campus alcohol and other drug policies, staff worked with the student newspaper to reduce the number of advertisements that contain drink specials and base their appeals on sex, alcohol games, and misleading promises. ALERT Labs is still working to eliminate such ads. Other advertisements for bars and their events, such as posters and flyers, are only allowed on campus if there is no mention of alcohol.
• Limit alcohol availability. Working in partnership with local county prevention initiatives, the university hosted a series of Town Hall meetings to educate community members on the issues of alcohol and alcohol accessibility. Current campus policies prohibit alcohol in the freshmen living centers, limit tailgating areas, and prohibit kegs on campus. Increased enforcement of campus policy has also led to a reduction in alcohol availability.
• Policy and enforcement. With an increase in the number of students involved in the recovery program, and in substance free and recovery housing, as well as an ongoing review of existing policies, law enforcement officials have the support they need to enforce campus policy and local laws effectively and consistently. Enhanced enforcement has led to increased early intervention with students who are abusing and/or addicted to alcohol and other drugs.
• Early intervention. Starting in 2002, the campus has offered the “Pathways to Recovery” program. Students are offered substance free and recovery housing, daily 12-step meetings, a specialized addictions counselor, and specific community development programs. ALERT Labs also works with local courts to provide support for students who have been ticketed and/or put on probation for alcohol and other drug violations. Interventions, such as providing evidence of successful participation in 12-step meetings and other recovery activities, has enabled students to begin recovering from addiction and to stay in school and graduate. In many cases, students have been excused from potential jail terms because of their demonstrated commitment to recovery from abuse and addiction.

Evaluation
Each of the programs at GVSU is evaluated via surveys and/or focus groups as they are in progress. The Personal Report of Student Perceptions (PRSP) survey is administered annually each spring to measure student drinking behaviors and attitudes across a random sample of full-time undergraduate GVSU students. Audience evaluations and focus groups are used to assess individual programs throughout the year, leading to revision and inclusion or exclusion of particular elements in the ongoing program.

Results
There is extensive evidence to document the effectiveness of the ALERT Labs’ programs. Since 1999 there have been significant decreases in the percent of students who drink heavily on three or more occasions per week (55 percent reduction), the percent of students who drink moderately or abstain has increased by 35 percent, and the misperception that “everyone drinks” weekly has decreased by 33 percent.