Program reduces alcohol abuse on campus

With many college-bound students concerned about the high cost of higher education, The College of Saint Rose in Albany offers an interesting solution for cutting college costs.

The college suggests cutting alcohol out of students' budgets.

As part of its nationally recognized Alcohol Abuse Prevention program, Saint Rose College distributes materials to educate students to the problems of alcohol use.

For example, a bookmark distributed to students states, "The average college student spends more money on beer than books each semester, about $446 per student. On average, about one-third of a college student's discretionary income is spent on alcohol."

Major effort

The bookmarks are just one part of the college's campus-wide effort to curb alcohol use. The program, which was recognized by the National Commission Against Drunk Driving and was written about in "Promising Practices: Campus Alcohol Strategies," a resource for colleges and universities, includes peer education, curriculum infusion, media advocacy and environmental change.

The campus is filled with messages on responsible drinking, from table "tents" in the cafeteria to mouse pads in the computer labs. Wellness educators also make presentations in residence halls, to student groups, and even guest lecture in classes.

Presentations on alcohol and other substances have been made in classes ranging from health and biology, to history and political science.

Success story

Saint Rose's efforts have paid off, according John Ellis, former director of the College's Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Services. In a nationally used survey to determine alcohol and drug use on campus, the college rated lower than the national average.

"Twenty-five percent of our students don't drink," he said. Those who do drink are doing so in moderation. "The average is 2.2 drinks consumed per person on campus," Mr. Ellis said.

Students should be concerned about alcohol use not only because it is costly but also because "choices [students] make can make or break their college career," said Lauren Romero, assistant director of student life and wellness education at Saint Rose. "They need to worry about health, safety, and wellness."

Problems

While many students know about the immediate physical effects of drinking, they might not know of other problems related to alcohol use, including lower grade point averages and increased violence on campus.

"Half of those who drop out do so because of alcohol-related problems," said Mr. Ellis. "On college campuses, close to 90 percent of sex-related crimes are related to alcohol."

Vandalism is also linked to alcohol use. Since 1992, when Saint Rose began its prevention efforts, the college has been able to see the relationship between vandalism and drinking. "As binge drinking went down, vandalism went down," Mr. Ellis said.

Binge drinking

"Binge drinking" is defined as five or more drinks in one evening for males and four or more for females, said Mr. Ellis.

He pointed out that there is a "second-hand effect" of binge drinking. Even students who don't drink pay in the long run for the habits of those who do. All students experience an increase in tuition when school property is damaged by drunk students.

Saint Rose offers many popular events for students that are alcohol-free. Many of the events are held at a time when students traditionally drink, such as Halloween, the Super Bowl and St. Patrick's Day. The school doesn't advertise the events as being alcohol-free. Rather, students come to the event, have a good time and then realize they enjoyed themselves without alcohol, stated Mr. Ellis.

For students heading to other colleges Mrs. Romero offers some tips for finding alcohol-free events: "Talk to other students, go to the orientation events, talk to your residence advisor, stop in the student service office, and get involved in campus groups. Campus life is what you make of it. If you look for [alcohol-free events], they're there."

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