New alcohol council to crack down

Local alcohol statistics and an increase in incident and arrest reports from local law enforcement jumpstarted the establishment of the President’s Council on Responsible Alcohol Use at GC&SU.

The council, established in November 2005, will promote more late-night, alcohol-free events, make alcohol-related school policies and downtown policies tougher

and may require incoming freshmen to take an alcohol awareness class.

“Underage drinking nationally seems to be on the increase,” Dr. Bruce Harshbarger, vice president for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, said. “You never know if the behavior is up, media coverage is up, or enforcement is up, or it could be a combination of all three of those. But clearly, a lot of campuses and communities have reacted, in particular, Georgia Southern and Statesboro, and the University of Georgia and Athens.”

According to a press release by University Communications, GC&SU President Dorothy Leland said alcohol abuse takes away from the university’s educational experience, threatens the health and safety of students, impairs the university’s reputation for academic excellence and diminishes the quality of life of the university’s neighbors.

“The main purpose of the taskforce is to develop a comprehensive, research-based approach to reducing incidences of alcohol use among GC&SU students,” Leland said. “Educators can help students to understand the effects of alcohol abuse on self and others and help students learn how to use alcohol responsibly.”

The recent event of sophomore Evan Luke being stabbed to death near campus after a verbal disagreement occurred downtown was not the sole reason for the formation of the council, but it did add immediacy to it.

“We were already reviewing alcohol-related problems at GC&SU when the tragic death occurred,” Leland said, “but following the tragedy, our response was accelerated.”

Leland said the focus of the taskforce is more centered on the abuse of alcohol (such as binge drinking), than on the legal age for alcohol consumption.

The council holds four internal subcommittees. The Best Practices committee, led by Dr. Barbara Funke, professor of Health Education, will look at national data and research. Campus Policies, headed by Dr. Jan Flynn, assistant professor of management, will examine judicial and campus alcohol policies. The Catch-All committee, led by Counselor Jennifer Strole, will provide alcohol-related support and resources. The Campus Community committee, led by Harshbarger, will work with Milledgeville Police Chief Woodrow Blue and Milledgeville City Manager Scott Wood.

“Beginning later this month, second-time alcohol offenders will be required to attend a $300, six-week program,” Harshbarger said. “One of the things we’re hoping to do for next fall is to use an online alcohol education program called ‘alcohol.edu,’ an online course that students take in several settings over a couple of hours.”

Harshbarger said the campus would set a passing grade requirement, and would be required for all entering students in the freshman class before and after they arrive.

Funke said GC&SU recently received a Safe and Sound grant renewal that the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for $10,000. The grant will increase seat belt usage, reduce binge drinking and reduce DUI incidents among college students through peer educational programs, law enforcement programs and campaigns.

Last year, seatbelt observational surveys in Milledgeville showed 58 percent of students wore seat belts, compared to the 60 percent of students who wore seat belts in 2004.

“We were not successful in meeting our objective of increasing seat belt usage by two percent (last year),” Funke wrote in her Grant Renewal proposal. “Our Public Safety officers participated in these campaigns, conducting seatbelt checks and broadcasting pertinent information about these topics. Whenever possible, brochures were given to students. We will renew our efforts to increase seat belt usage with the 2005-5006 grant.”

Director of Public Safety Ken Vance said Public Safety will help implement the Safe and Sound program.

“We are currently looking at an enforcement taskforce that will work in conjunction with our regular patrol shifts and concentrate on enforcement of alcohol abuse and underage drinking,” Vance said. “Also, I will be attending a national conference on ‘best practices’ in addressing alcohol abuses on campuses in mid-March.”

Funke said on-campus alcohol awareness programs will also be executed with funds from the grant.

“We already started a Peer Education program with the money, and I am looking to recruit new peer educators to be trained in February,” Funke said. “The peers will speak to classes and in residence halls.”

The council’s big event will be a Safe Spring Break week to promote responsible drinking.

Students and community members are encouraged to become involved in any of the committees. This can be done by contacting the appropriate committee chair, or Harshbarger.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 20 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry