UW acts to curb binge drinking

Researchers’ new recommendations for curbing binge drinking among students lend support to efforts already under way through the six-year RWJ Project at the university.

In a new study, researchers involved with the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, recommend stricter enforcement of the drinking-age law at bars as well as targeting happy hours, alcohol promotions, and the sale of beer in kegs.

To get the study: Download a PDF version of the prepublication draft of the latest Harvard study.

The RWJ Project, which will be active through 2002, seeks to change the campus and community norms that result in high-risk drinking. This project focuses primarily on changing the environment, not individuals.

“The recent survey of the drinking patterns of college students only reinforces the importance of changing the community norms that foster a culture of high-risk drinking on our campuses,” says Provost John Wiley. “We have forged new collaborations between the campus and the community, meeting with tavern owners and community leaders to identify common issues and discuss roles in changing the culture that supports high-risk drinking.”

Despite the national 21-year minimum drinking age law, underaged drinking is pervasive on college campuses, according to the new study by the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study. Two in three underage students reported drinking in the past 30 days. These students pay less per drink than of-age students and, though they drink less frequently, drink more per occasion than older students.

The study surveyed about 7,000 college students under the age of 21 and approximately 5,000 students aged 21-23 about their drinking patterns. The results appear in the July issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The Substance Abuse Policy Research Program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the study.

The university’s RWJ Project has been pursuing several strategies, including:

Changes in policy

• University officials regard recent negotiations with the Luther’s Blues club owner over drink specials and other matters to be a model of what can be accomplished when tavern owners and the university work together to encourage responsible alcohol consumption. In addition, RWJ Project organizers have continued to forge collaborations between the campus and the community, meeting with campus-area property owners, area high schools and Tavern League members to identify common issues and discuss roles in changing the culture that supports high-risk drinking.
• As part of this initiative, the university also participates in the Mayor’s Work Group on Downtown Alcohol Issues, and the university intends to take an active role in the future in deliberations over alcohol licenses, including renewals, for the campus area.
• University officials plan to back a beer keg registration bill in the Legislature and seek a reduction in drink specials at bars in the campus neighborhood.

Fostering awareness of consequences

• RWJ volunteers present many alcohol awareness programs to student groups, and RWJ recently held an open forum on the subject open to all students. Alcohol awareness is also part of the SOAR student orientation program now under way on campus for this fall’s 7,000 new and transferring students.

Sponsoring alternative activities

• To help steer underage students away from the bar scene, a grants program now in its second year helps support late-night, alcohol-free activities at recreational facilities and the unions. The Club 770 music and dance events, organized by and for students, have proven to be a particularly big draw, with 200 to 400 students attending each night.