Two University Presidents Honored for Campus Crackdown on Alcohol Abuse; New Study Shows Students Back Efforts

3/10/2004

From: Cathy Renna, 212-584-5000 or crenna@fenton.com, or Liza Cichowski, 212-584-5000 or lcichowski@fenton.com, both for the Center for College Health and Safety

WASHINGTON, March 10 -- With 1,400 American college students dying in alcohol-related deaths each year, some university administrators are implementing new methods of curbing excessive drinking on college campuses. Today, two university presidents received the Presidents Leadership Group Award for imposing some of the toughest alcohol abuse policies in the country -- and, according to a new survey, students support such policies. The award, presented by the Education Development Center's Center for College Health and Safety (CCHS), honored President David Roselle of the University of Delaware, who instituted the first-ever policy in the U.S. to notify parents when students break campus rules, and University of Rhode Island President Robert Carothers, who banned alcohol from all social events on campus, including at fraternities and sororities.

"College administrators can no longer afford to stand by and allow alcohol abuse to destroy lives," said William DeJong, director of CCHS. "I commend President Carothers and President Roselle for having the courage to change campus culture and create an environment that is safer for all students."

As part of the awards presentation, DeJong announced the results of a soon-to-be-published national survey of 32 college campuses, which found that a majority of students support stricter alcohol control policies. The data, which came from the baseline assessment of an ongoing five-year experimental research project, demonstrate that:

-- 90 percent of students want stricter penalties for classmates who are violent when drunk;

-- 72 percent of students support disciplinary action to be taken on those who repeatedly violate campus alcohol policy; and

-- Nearly 60 percent favor sanctions for students who use false IDs to purchase alcohol illegally.

"College presidents should take heart knowing that a majority of students share their concerns about campus safety," said DeJong. "The bottom line is that today's college students want something done about out-of-control drinking."

Alcohol-abuse experts and advocates for limiting student alcohol consumption, including Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), and Rep. Michael Castle (R-Del.), attended the event and illustrated the need to implement new campus policies.

According to CCHS, two in five American college students can be classified as heavy drinkers (defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row at least once in the past two weeks). In addition, advocates said that the percentage of students who say they drink "to get drunk" is on the rise.

CCHS established the Presidents Leadership Group (PLG) Awards program in 2002 to annually recognize a single college or university president who has taken an active role in addressing alcohol and other drug problems (AOD) on his or her campus and in the larger community. The PLG was established in 1997 to underscore the important role college and university presidents serve in successful AOD prevention efforts on campus and in the larger community. With support from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the PLG was formed to bring national attention to campus AOD issues, highlighting concrete ways presidents can serve as effective catalysts for change.

The Center for College Health and Safety

The Center for College Health and Safety is a part of the Health and Human Development division of Education Development Center, Inc., an internationally known educational research and development organization located in Newton, Mass. CCHS assists colleges and universities in developing, implementing and evaluating prevention policies and programs that address a broad range of health and safety issues at institutions of higher education. The Center also conducts research to expand current knowledge about effective strategies to promote health and prevent alcohol, tobacco, drug use, violence, injuries and high-risk sexual activity.