ACUHO-I News Blog

Watch these videos. Then we’ll talk. (I’ll wait.)

Okay, were those effective drinking deterrents for you? What about for your students?

I have to admit, when I saw the female version, I thought: “Wowee. That was one helluva night out.” Some YouTube commenters apparently agree; one says: “she is cute in a debauched way…. i think this will probably doesn’t work as the advert intends….” and another noted: “If she came home like that she must have had a f****** EPIC night out!!” Others asked why the advertisement was “promoting” binge drinking. (Facetiously, I assume.) Some seem to get the point of the advertisement; many more are debating the origins of the song in it.

It’s alarming when I find my thoughts aligning with YouTube comments, but I’ll worry about my issues later. Society’s issue, it seems, is that ads like these seem to encourage binge drinking, not deter it, as if a morning spent guzzling water, munching aspirin and locating one’s brain cells is a weird, sticky, stinky badge of honor.

A study conducted at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management  found that PSAs like this don’t discourage binge drinking, and may actually lead to more of it. Ad Age reports on the study, and more results will be published in the Journal of Marketing Research later this year. The ads rely on guilt and shame to move viewers, but if the target audience is already feeling guilt (about anything), they’re likely to shy away from things that play on those emotions, and resist the messages in the ads.

Virginia Tech will now notify parents of students under 21 who are disciplined for any alcohol violation. Previously, the institution only notified parents in serious instances (drunken driving, hospitalization due to excessive drinking) or after two violations. Some parents complained of being caught off-guard when  second incident resulted in sanctions, as they had been unaware of the first violation. Now any drug or alcohol-related violation will lead to an unpleasant conversation with the folks back home.

Virginia Tech officials say the move is welcomed by parents, as partners in their student’s well-being, but, shockingly, students aren’t happy about it. While the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act restricts how much an institution can tell parents about their adult children, there’s an exception for drug- and alcohol-related incidents for students under 21. In these instances, institutions can set their own policies.

How does your institution manage this tricky situation? Have you made changes to your policies because of parents’ requests or legal issues? Are you considering doing so?

The public radio program This American Life is visiting Penn State, this year’s “#1 Party School,” according to the expert party-evaluators at the Princeton Review.

This American Life notes that the first place ranking (a prize, perhaps, for some students; a booby prize for administrators) rotates regularly. The University of Florida, West Virginia University, the University of Texas-Austin, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the State University of New York-Albany, the University of Colorado-Boulder, Indiana University and Ohio University (Athens) are other recent “winners.” The University of Florida won “Best Career School” this year, so perhaps all that party networking does one good. The only constant is the year’s most “Stone-Cold Sober” institution, which is always Brigham Young University.

The methodology may not be academic journal-worthy, and given the lack of consistency, the rankings may not mean much (Indiana went from unranked to #1 in a year) but the party school ranking always gets a lot of press. This American Life decided to check out Penn on a football weekend to see what there is to be seen.

The story is on public radio stations nationwide this week; check your local public radio listings to see if they carry This American Life. (See the right sidebar on the This American Life website to locate a public radio station near you.) Next week, the broadcast will be available on the This American Life website.

It’s that time of year again.

No, not move-in; we’re not quite there yet.

It’s that time of year when college presidents and student affairs administrators live in fear of a firm based in Framingham, MA.

Actually, the Princeton Review is unnerving all year-round, but the annual “party school rankings” are chief among the Princeton products that make student affairs administrators awake at 3 a.m.

The party school rankings are very detailed. There’s the top “jock” schools, the top institutions for hard liquor and the top places for fraternity and sorority life. These are all combined into one list that produces a “Best of Show,” of sorts, of partying. Administrators of frequently top-ranking schools seek to draw attention to other aspects of their campus life and academics, and sigh a bit in relief when their institution slips down the list. The local media isn’t always helpful. Students often seem to take a different tack on a “good” Princeton party ranking. Perennial “stone-cold” sober campus Brigham Young University, on the other hand, won their title for the 12th year in a row.

It’s the same every time, but rather agonizing all the same, especially for administrators at institutions that are perpetually topping the list.

At the same time, there’s the very real issue of safety on campus, and how far campus administrators can, or should go to keep students safe. Case in point: Alcohol Related Deaths Could Impact Student Privacy. The University of Kansas is considering a new policy: If an RA or administrator suspects alcohol use, they can enter the student’s room without warning.

What do you think of this policy? What are your policies regarding suspected alcohol use? And finally — if you feel like talking — what are your thoughts on the “party school” rankings?

…but they’re not getting it. According to a study by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, a subset of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 7 million Americans aged 18 to 25 were designated as needing treatment for alcohol or drug abuse in the past year, but only 7 percent of them are getting it. The study was also conducted in 2002, when similar numbers prevailed. Most feel they do not need help; among the 4 percent who did feel they needed treatment, just over 32 percent of them tried to seek it out. For details, see the report here.

“Conversations,” a regular department in the Talking Stick magazine, is dedicated to capturing dialogue between high-level professionals on the topics that affect campus housing. The July+August 2009 issue featured a conversation on student substance abuse that was so thorough and valuable, that it all couldn’t fit on the printed page.

The following is the complete conversation featuring Valerie Randall-Lee (Northeastern University in Boston), Dan Pedersen (St. Cloud University in Minnesota), and Paul Hubinsky (Illlinois Institute of Technology in Chicago). After reading, please share your own thoughts about student substance abuse and the efforts your campus is making to address it in the comment section.

(more…)

Here’s another study that proves what college housing officers–and anyone who works at a college or university–likely knows already. Establishing the national drinking age at 21 twenty years ago has not prevented or limited underage binge drinking among college students. The study was conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis by a team headed by Richard A. Grucza, Ph.D. The results appear in an article in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

There is good news; binge drinking has dipped substantially among other groups. Males 15 – 17 years old binge drank 50 percent less in 2006 than they did in 1979. Males 18 – 20 years old in all groups (both college-going and otherwise) binge drank 20 percent less, and males 21 – 23 years old binge drank 10 percent less.

Now the not-so-good news: Men and women in college both binge drink at considerably greater rates than their non-college-attending brethren. Men ages 18 – 20 who were not in college binge drank 30 percent less during the study period. The rates of men the same age who were in college were unchanged. Similar results played out for men 21-23; men not in college binge drank 10 percent less during those 20 years; the rates for men in college were steady.

For women, the story is even less encouraging. For all females aged 15 – 20 years old, binge drinking was unchanged since 1979. Women 21 – 23 years old binge drank 40 percent more than they did in 1979. Male minority members binge less than they used to, but female minorities do so more. Overall, males make up the majority of binge drinkers but rates of female binge drinking has been increasing.

Researchers speculate that a higher drinking age has made it harder for high school students to obtain alcohol, thus driving down binge drinking among that group, while college students are more likely to mingle with those 21 and over. Non-students in their early 20s may also be more likely to have responsibilities that take precedence over partying, such as spouses, a full-time job, or children. Overall, they feel that while the result isn’t ideal, binge drinking is down among the population in general and teenagers especially, so a higher drinking age should be maintained.

A selection of college housing and student affairs headlines from InsideHigherEd.com. Look for these on a weekly basis in the ACUHO-I news blog.

FAILING GRADE ON ALCOHOL: New data showing nationwide increases in drinking-related deaths among college students call into question the strategies being used to promote moderation:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/16/alcohol

NEW BUSINESS FOR ‘U.S. NEWS’: Magazine plans expansion of Web site to include index of adult and online programs — and to sell colleges “lead generation” (lists of potential students). Some see conflict of interest:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/17/usnews

HOW TO PAY FOR STUDENT HEALTH CARE: With Obama plan attracting attention in Washington, campus health officials and state politicians consider merits of billing insurance companies or billing students — or both:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/16/healthcare

Despite rising awareness and prevention campaigns, alcohol-related deaths, drunk driving, and binge drinking are all on the rise on college campuses, according to a new study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

The findings have been published in a special edition  of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs devoted to college drinking problems. Fourteen studies in the issue report the results of projects funded by the NIAAA’s Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems initiative which, between 2004 and 2005, selected 15 college campuses to help develop programs to combat the problem. These figures show that drinking-related accidental deaths among 18- to 24-year-old students rose from 1,440 in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005. Reported binge drinking went from 42 percent to 45 percent. And students who admitted to drinking and driving increased from 26.5 percent to 29 percent.

Ralph Hingson, Sc.D., M.P.H., is the lead researcher for the project and the director of the NIAAA’s division of epidemiology and prevention research. In a release he expressed his concern over the numbers and pointed out that, “the irony is that during this same time period, our knowledge of what works as far as intervention in this age group has increased. That knowledge isn’t yet being put into place.”

A copy of the report is available as a PDF download here.

A contributor to this problem on many campuses is the so-called “Thirsty Thursdays,” where students begin their weekend celebrations (and associated alcohol consumption) a day early because they have no classes scheduled for Friday.  InsideHigherEd.com last week reported on the study which was based on the responses of 895 undergraduates at the Loyola College in Maryland in fall 2008.

In the report, students who did not have a Friday class reported drinking an average of 3.38 drinks on Thursday nights, roughly four times more than those with a Friday class before 10 a.m. These trends were consistent for all respondents, regardless of gender, class year, or individual propensity to drink.

The St. Cloud Times recently ran a flattering story about St. Cloud State University’s substance education efforts, which are centered on high-risk drinking. The UChoose program is the product of numerous departments, offices and individuals; among them student affairs; counseling and psychological services; student health services and the office of the provost. The program provides speakers, posters and other educational materials for student meetings and events. They’ll even whip up mocktails for special occasions. Online, students can take assessments that evaluate their behaviors for danger and potential for dependency and their knowledge about how alcohol affects the body. (i.e.: The site dispels the common myth that caffeine reduces alcohol’s impact–it just makes the drinker feel more alert.)

But UChoose goes further than that. As the St. Cloud Times reports, an area landlord has joined the effort, requiring potential residents to complete an alcohol education program. A graduate student speaker, Rachael Berg, has spoken locally about the university’s education efforts, and she has also traveled to Nelson Mandella Metropolitan University in South Africa, where she persuaded them to add education elements to their alcohol sanctions.

ACUHO-I members will get to meet partners in St. Cloud State University’s efforts when Rob Reff, a counselor and professor in the counseling and psychological services office, with three members of the residence life staff, journey to our annual conference and exposition to present their ideas for combating high-risk drinking.

Jonathan C. Gibralter, the president of Frostburg State University in Maryland, has taken many steps to curb the binge drinking on his campus and received the 2008 Presidential Leadership Award from the American Council on Education as a result.  Gibralter worked with local and campus police for more aggressive enforcement; with bars to reduce the number of all-you-can-drink specials and underage serving; and with students, creating educational programs. This is the inagural year for the award. A $50,000 grant from Outside the Classroom accompanies it. Outside the Classroom is a company that works with colleges to prevent alcohol abuse.

However, according to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Gibralter arrived back in Frostburg to find one of his 18-year-old students in the hospital, with alcohol poisoning. The student survived, but the episode made Gibralter uneasy about his honor, despite all his efforts to prevent such incidents. The article goes on to talk to Frostburg students. Most of those quoted stridently defy the anti-binge efforts, even if they acknowledge that the policies have changed their habits somewhat, and they insist drinking doesn’t affect their academics.

The article shows, as others have, how deeply ingrained the culture of drinking (particularly binge drinking) is for some students. How can this be positively changed?

It’s been a scholarly topic since 400 BC, with commentary from Martin Luther, Mark Twain, and Vince Lombardi. No, not the nature of good v/s evil or the appropriate use of seersucker. It’s hazing.

A report published in March 2008 by the National Center for Hazing Research and Prevention concluded that 55 percent of students involved in clubs, teams, and organizations experience hazing, many of them (47 percent) experience hazing before coming to college, 9 out of 10 are unable to identify activities as hazing that clearly are, 95 percent of all hazing experiences go unreported, and generally students perceive positive rather than negative outcomes associated with hazing.

These stats certainly imply student affairs professionals have their work cut-out for them in eradicating hazing.  Given the odds above, there is a good chance that many of your residents are on the receiving or giving end of hazing activities and some may even be related to your hall councils, internal honorary organizations, or even taking place as part of your training programs (behind closed doors gone-bad anyone?).

September 22-26, 2008 is National Hazing Prevention Week and a perfect opportunity to bring these harmful issues to light.  Be sure to review the recommendations from the research report on effective elements of a hazing prevention and education strategy and take a moment to reach out to other campus departments to start or be included in a comprehensive dialogue.

For a glimpse into the minds of the pro-hazer, check out the “fan” submissions to stophazing.org for insight that makes you uncomfortable.

Full disclosure: the author of this post has consulted on high-risk college drinking for the parent company of www.hazingprevention.org before it became an independent non-profit.  He has also ignorantly participated in and been a victim of hazing as an undergraduate.

We can’t stop talking about the Amethyst Initiative that is. Y’know, the petition signed by…let’s check the ticker here…129 chancellors and presidents at universities and colleges throughout the US advocating a “dispassionate debate” on the drinking age. The debate would be about, specifically, raising the drinking age, preferably to 45.

Just kidding!

Anyway, the Chronicle of Higher Education has helpfully gathered two professionals, on opposing sides of the debate, to offer their views.

William G. Durden, President of Dickinson College is on the pro side. He points out that the Amethyst Initiative is not necessarily arguing the drinking age be moved to 18; rather: “It does state the 128 signatories’ belief that it is time for our nation to engage in a serious debate about alternative approaches to underage and binge drinking and to examine whether current public policies are in line with current realities.” He argues that the current law and abstinence rhetoric are obviously not working, and in fact drive students to more secretive and dangerous behaviors. Often, he says, college students’ dangerous drinking activities are unrelated to driving, but endanger their lives in other ways. He points to other countries’ lower drinking ages, which are reinforced, he says, by extensive alcohol education and severe penalties for dangerous and destructive behaviors, such as drunken driving.

William DeJong, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at Boston University’s School of Public Health, points to studies showing a reduction in alcohol-related deaths and no greater alcohol use on campus than there was 21 years ago, when the drinking age was upped. He replies to Durden’s point about foreign countries’ alcohol laws with the example of New Zealand: In 1999, that country lowered the drinking age from 20 to 18. “The result,” DeJong says, ”was a dramatic upswing in traffic crashes and injuries among 15- to 19-year-olds.” He advocates a variety of prevention and education measures, from “specific guidance on how to keep their blood-alcohol concentration in a safer range” for students who do drink, to the usual restrictions of alcohol-laden advertising and purchasing opportunities.

What do you think of their arguments? My initial thought is that it’s a pity we couldn’t read a dialogue between these two, each responding to and countering the other’s viewpoints, and possibly finding middle ground.

Early this week, we heard a lot in the news about college presidents who had signed a petition advocating re-thinking the drinking age: specifically, considering the costs and benefits of lowering it to 18 again. Some signers argue that raising the drinking age to 21 has caused more problems than it solved, by encouraging an underground drinking culture, the use of fake IDs and “preloading,” i.e.: drinking heavily in seclusion before a night out on the town.

The New York Times writes today that two presidents, Kendall Blanchard of Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, GA and Robert M. Franklin of Morehouse College in Atlanta, recinded their signatures. Blanchard told the NYT he felt critics misunderstood the petition’s intended purpose, to start a dialogue, and instead thought it is “some kind of effort on our part to turn our schools into party schools.”

Yup, because college and university presidents love for their institutions to be known as “Ibiza, But With Football”.

However, 15 more presidents have signed on, resulting in 123 signatories, some from household names such as Dartmouth, Duke, Tufts and Ohio State. Of course, the petition has its detractors, namely the Governors’ Highway Safety Administration and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

What do you think about the proposed “dispassionate public debate”?