Drinking: Back to School Means Moderation

“Back to School Means Moderation” is the theme of Utah State University’s continuing campaign to curb problem drinking on campus. The state’s land-grant university is among 300 schools nationwide using federal money to implement a social norms approach to reduce high-risk drinking and other risky behaviors.

“We’re letting our students know that underage and binge drinking is not the norm at Utah State and that you can still fit in and have fun if you use alcohol responsibly or don’t drink at all,” says Jamie McKinlay, program coordinator for USU’s Student Wellness Center.

 

This is the third year Utah State has received grant money from the U.S. Department of Education to fund a campus-wide social norms campaign. McKinlay says the social norms approach is based on the premise that providing accurate information about the prevalence of healthy behavior can lead to more healthy behavior.

 

“Surveys at USU and other campuses have shown that students often overestimate the extent to which their peers consume alcohol and other drugs,” she says. “Research indicates that if a school can reduce misperceptions about the prevalence of alcohol consumption and acceptability of inappropriate alcohol use, risky drinking behavior will also be reduced.”

 

McKinlay says the USDE developed the campaign in response to poorly received punitive measures used by universities in the past in response to alcohol-related tragedies.

 

“Schools used scare tactics, tight restrictions and stiff penalties to quell problem drinking, but these methods didn’t have much impact,” she says. “Encouraging positive student behavior seems to be much more successful.”

 

To promote the campaign, USU’s Student Wellness Center recently launched an updated Web site  to provide students with easy access to information and resources for assistance. In addition, the center conducts an advertising campaign on campus to reinforce responsible, legal behavior.

 

“Our new Web site also includes a ‘Comments’ box through which we encourage feedback from students,” says McKinlay. “We want to hear students’ opinions and suggestions on ways to promote a healthy campus community.”

 

Housed in a joint center just north of Romney Stadium, Utah State’s Student Health and Wellness Center serves as a primary care clinic for USU students and provides a variety of educational and awareness programs in alcohol, tobacco and substance abuse; healthy relationships, sexual assault and rape prevention; nutrition, peer pressure and safe recreational practices.

 

Upcoming events coordinated by the center include Red Zone Sexual Assault Awareness Day, Sept. 12, on the plaza south of USU’s Taggart Student Center; observance of National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week Oct. 15-21; and ‘A Healthy Campus’ Lunch Walks on the USU Quad during October.

 

For more information, contact McKinlay at 435-797-1010 or at jjmckinlay@cc.usu.edu or visit the center’s Web site. 

           

Contact: Jamie McKinlay, 435-797-1010, jjmckinlay@cc.usu.edu