Saying they “aren’t prepared to accept this any longer,” Mothers Against Drunk Driving unveiled its plans to decrease underage and binge drinking on college campuses nationwide yesterday.
In a press conference at the George Sherman Union, MADD representatives debuted and outlined a five-step plan that they hope will help to reduce dangerous drinking habits of college students. Copies have already been sent to every four-year school in the nation.
The MADD College Commission Report to Address Alcohol’s Impact on America’s College Campuses calls for those involved in campus communities to follow MADD’s five recommendations to best combat drinking at colleges.
The first step, according to the Report, is to establish a Campus Alcohol Policies Panel, which would work to establish a national standard for the enforcement of alcohol policies. Next, MADD recommends college communities assess alcohol policies and prevention methods and be graded through an “Honor Roll of Colleges.” This idea is similar to the group’s “Rating the States” program, which evaluates states on their drunk driving legislation and enforcement.
“Publicizing MADD’s Honor Roll of Colleges through the media would reward the colleges who had ‘made the honor roll’ as well as raise the public’s awareness about underage and high-risk drinking,” said Sammy Quintana, chair of MADD’s College Commission. “The MADD Honor Roll of Colleges will no doubt be a helpful guide for parents and high school students when selecting potential schools.”
The College Commission also recommended promoting student leadership and involving students in advocacy training through a national college student summit as part of its third recommendation.
The group’s fourth suggestion is to establish community coalitions where there are none, and bridge gaps between on- and off-campus organizations working to prevent underage drinking.
Quintana said those students who abstain from underage drinking and wish to “change the drunken culture” should organize grassroots enforcement campaigns, where students would team with federal and state agencies, going beyond college administrators to enforce laws.
“Bottom line, the College Commission believes that grassroots activism should play an integral role in tackling the problem of college drinking,” Quintana said. “It is activism that will ignite the flames of progress, just as MADD’s founders ignited a blaze on the issue of drunk driving across the nation some 20 years ago.”
“The MADD College Commission and resulting report was developed in response to the chronic problem of underage and high-risk drinking among college students backed by statistics showing that almost half of college students binge drink,” said Millie Webb, MADD national president. “We all must play a role in making campuses and communities safer.”
Webb referred to a recent Education Development Center, Inc., survey of 18 colleges that reported 44 percent of college students binge drink, which for the study’s purposes was categorized as five consecutive drinks for males, and four for females, over the past two weeks.
She was quick to note, however, the study’s findings show a majority of students do not binge drink. These students, Webb said, are still affected by their binge drinking colleagues though, forced to live with the distractions or abuse of those who do.
The study supported Webb’s argument, and indicated most students — 58 percent — would prefer to live on a campus where kegs were prohibited. Also, 77 percent of students said they’d support stricter penalties for repeated alcohol policy offenders, and nearly two-thirds favored strict enforcement of laws against fake IDs.
The Education Development’s survey also reported a vast difference between student’s perception of college drinking and actual behavior. In a survey of more than 2,700 students, the amount of alcohol actually consumed was just over half of what students believed it to be.
“[Nearly 90 percent] of students believe that drinking among their peers far exceeds actual drinking levels when students party,” said William DeJong, project director for the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention.
Boston University was the first college in the nation to open a MADD chapter on its campus. The group’s current president, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore Corrie Barnett, was personally affected by a drunk driver in her native North Carolina.
One morning, while waiting outside for the school bell around 7 a.m., one of Barnett’s friends was struck by a drunk driver. The victim managed to live, but has never fully recovered and suffered brain damage.
“We were not alcohol abolitionists, or against drinking for those over 21, but instead were sick of watching our friends face the repercussions of car crashes, alcohol poisoning and expulsion,” Barnett said. “Our goal [in starting MADD at BU] was simple: to raise awareness and educate our peers about the consequences of irresponsible drinking.”
Barnett said the group is heeding the advice of the College Commission and making a conscious effort to broaden its goals, establishing connections with police and administration to have a voice in policy-making. Some onus, however, remains on the students, she said.
“We’re on the eve of one of the biggest ‘party’ times of the year, Spring Break,” Barnett said. “But this Spring Break, we call on students to party safe.”
Shaun Adamec, a Providence College senior and Resident Assistant there, echoed Barnett’s sentiments toward the acceptance of drinking as part of the college culture. Though he is proud of his work with the College Commission, Adamec acknowledged the work is far from over.
“We will not stop this fight until every student across the country, every college administrator nationwide and every policymaker in all 50 states refuses to accept college drinking as a part of the campus culture,” he said.
MADD has worked toward preventing underage drinking since 1995. Establishing about 40 Youth in Action teams nationwide, the group’s efforts resulted in a Washington conference of 435 teens from each representative district in the United States last year.
In 1997, MADD’s National Board began “serious action” in recommending policies, according to Webb. Those suggestions were similar to those proposed yesterday, calling for education, planning and community relationships.
The College Commission was formally established in 1999, and members have worked since then to develop their latest recommendations.
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