Palm - Spring 2008 - (Page 5) F E AT U R E KYLE HAD GOOD REASON to be skeptical. For more than 30 years, the wise ones in the ivory towers have been vainly searching for ways to stop the noise by all of the raucous alcohol-fueled partying going on down the hall. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent on research and programming. An enormous amount of time invested. Careers built. All focused on finding out why college students drink so much and, more to the point, how to put a lid on it. Dr. Henry Wechsler, the director has spent millions of dollars on alcohol education. All the research has established important insights into the factors turbo-charging collegiate alcohol consumption. However, when it comes to convincing students to curb their consumption, there is a slight problem. Nothing has worked. And just to be clear, students don’t think there’s a problem. “I absolutely think this generation of college students thinks alcohol use is their right,” What is true now was true in the 1990s as Brandon Busteed assessed what was happening on his campus. Busteed was in the unique position of serving on the Duke University Board of Trustees as an undergraduate board member. As the ‘student expert,’ one of his board tasks was to look at ways to bring alcohol-free student events to campus. “Trying to get college students to socialize without alcohol was a bigger task than I thought it was going to be,” said Busteed, who decided not to made a discovery that would change his life. “I kept hearing about this course on alcohol that was taught by a neuroscience professor. Students were raving about it,” said Busteed. Course developer Dr. Scott Schwartzwelder was becoming well known for his research on how alcohol impacts the brains of college students. His standing room only course was popular because it was simple in its approach. It focused on the facts of alcohol consumption and allowed students to make up ATOs reported an increase in their expressions of social concern through care-taking behaviors after completing the AlcoholEdu course. In the past two weeks did you . . . Have to take care of a friend or roommate who had been drinking: BEFORE Express your concern to a friend who has been drinking too much: BEFORE Worry about a friend who has been drinking too much: BEFORE Consciously look out for a friend’s safety when he/she has been drinking: BEFORE Think about your BAC: BEFORE Choose a drink with less alcohol: BEFORE Alternate non-alcoholic with alcoholic drinks: BEFORE 55% 58% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 42% 57% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 58% 68% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 69% 67% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 41% 67% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 54% 62% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 47% 56% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE of college alcohol studies at the Harvard School of Public Health, is probably the most recent highprofile researcher who sounded health alarms and almost singlehandedly redefined the meaning of binge drinking. But Wechsleras-expert is certainly not the only or the last. Scores of think tanks including the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse and the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention are focused on alcohol on campus. Every Division I national fraternity said Pete Smithhisler, chief executive officer of the North-American Interfraternity Conference. “There is a pervasive attitude among students that alcohol use is not a legal issue but an access issue.” Smithhisler believes that many of the increasingly sophisticated risk management strategies employed by national fraternities including ATO have been effective in doing what they’re intended to do. . . reduce high risk drinking in high risk situations but, until recently, nothing has worked to slow down actual consumption. drink until after his 21st birthday. Still, he was discouraged when he found out what Duke was actually doing to address alcohol on campus. “I looked at what the University was doing to try and empower students to address the problem,” said Busteed. “It wasn’t doing anything. What the administration was doing was not treating students like adult decision makers and instead dealing with alcohol in punitive measuresˇlike kicking fraternities off campus.” During his uphill climb, Busteed their own minds. Despite 30-plus years of research, this was a new approach in alcohol education. Busteed asked Dr. Schwartzwelder if his course could be delivered online. The short answer was yes. The long answer is what is now known as AlcoholEdu. I FELT LIKE IT SPOKE TO ME AlcoholEdu’s portal lit up in November 2001. That first year 12,000 students took the course. This year, 500,000 are enrolled, which includes one-third of all college freshmen. One of those AT O . O RG 5
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