Campus Environment Best Practice Example
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prethink your drink Reduce High-Risk Drinking on Campus Campus Environment—Best-Practice Examples Example #1: Medicine Hat College In past years the students’ association at Medicine Hat College have highlighted the hazards of high-risk drinking and promoted safe and responsible drinking through awareness initiatives, including displaying posters around campus, year round, that detail the consequences of high-risk drinking and highlight safe transportation options hosting, in partnership with the peer support centre, awareness weeks that raise awareness about issues students may face during and after their college years partnering with several community agencies and Alberta Health Services at the beginning of the school year to inform students about the reality of alcohol consumption and the services that are available to them During the 2016-2017 winter semester, Medicine Hat College hosted an event at the campus pub that included a live band, free mocktails, a photo booth, messaging on drinking in moderation and interactive activities – including using the beer goggles to start conversations with students. Throughout the process of coordinating this event there was a strong focus on developing relationships with various stakeholders on campus and in the community. Local AHS staff, campus pub staff, the campus peer support coordinator, and the students association were all working together with the ultimate goal of reducing high-risk drinking on their campus. Example #2: Bow Valley College Bow Valley College takes a harm-reduction approach to ensure the safety of its students. It does not have a campus pub, and it prohibits the use of alcohol on campus. Furthermore, when hosting events in association with local bars and pubs, each student who wishes to attend an event can buy a maximum of two drink tickets, and non-students are not allowed to attend events that are run or sponsored by the college. Drink tickets must also be pre-purchased through Bow Valley College’s student union. Other campuses have found that some students make copies of paper drink tickets and suggest instead purchasing re-usable wrist bands that must be traded in for a drink. Be creative. Think about how to use harm reduction to encourage moderation at your events. Example #3: Olds College At Olds College, Thursday night is typically when students gather at the campus bar. To Addiction and Mental Health 2017 prethink your drink Reduce High-Risk Drinking on Campus promote safe-drinking practices, the Olds Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship Club hands out free hot dogs from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. to all students who enter. This encourages students to eat prior to drinking. To raise funds to support this free initiative, the club sells burgers at the local rodeo. The town commends the hot-dog initiative for reducing alcohol-related incidents around town. Students appreciate the free food, too. To complement safe-drinking practices on campus, the students union and campus residence provide regular alcohol-free programming and activities to students, including free passes for gym, pool and yoga nights, as well as free tickets to the college sport teams’ home games. The on-campus residence also has an alcohol-free space called The Nest that provides a pool table, foosball table, couches and a big-screen TV with projector. Movie nights are coordinated regularly by resident assistants, and students can also coordinate their own movie nights. Example #4: University of Alberta In 2012, changes were made to the University of Alberta’s (U of A) Lister Hall, one of the residence buildings on campus and home to approximately 1,300 first-year students. While alcohol policies, such as bans on drinking games and kegs in residence, were in place, the culture of Lister Hall was known to be heavily based around alcohol and binge drinking. A brief intervention called Check Yourself was used to compile drinking habits for Lister Hall residents and compare them with the university’s overall drinking culture. They found the following: 53% of Lister Hall residents usually consume five or more drinks, compared to 29% of U of A students 49% of Lister Hall residents binge drink regularly (two to three times per month or more), compared to 20% of U of A students 65% of Lister Hall residents were identified as hazardous drinkers who experience alcohol-related harms, compared to 30% of U of A students Concerned that the culture of Lister Hall was significantly affecting residents’ academic success, and causing harm to residents, the environment and staff, significant policy changes were introduced, including banning the consumption of alcohol in common areas banning glass bottles of alcohol requiring two student resident assistants (RAs) per floor developing a first-year curriculum focused on students’ personal and academic success implementing monthly check-ins between RAs and residents Addiction and Mental Health 2017 prethink your drink Reduce High-Risk Drinking on Campus increasing community programming in residence with the aim to encourage students to volunteer during orientation week, and every Saturday off campus A restorative justice program was also introduced in residence to complement the new policies. This approach was successful in helping students understand what changes they need to make, how to identify the potential harm of their actions and how to change future behaviours. It also provides students with connections to other services on campus. As a result of the above actions, there is a noticeable change to the culture in Lister Hall. It is now a positive community and academic space, and drinking is no longer the dominant culture. While students still drink in and outside of residence, they have reported less peer pressure to drink, and that they enjoy being able to hang out in the common areas or focus on their studies without alcohol. Students have also indicated that there are more non-alcohol-related things to do in the lounge and there has been less overconsumption and less need to take care of drunk people. The reputation of Lister Hall has also changed. It is now seen as a respected place on campus, one that is both a place to do well academically and a place to have fun. Example #5: Concordia University of Edmonton The Concordia Students Association provided free food and water at their 2014 Halloween event. Two hundred and eighty students attended the event, and the total cost of supplying free food (e.g., hamburgers) was $1.71 per student. The team found that walking around with a readily accessible cart of water near the dance floor, tables, entrances and washrooms was important. Team members heard a lot of positive feedback from students, noting that they went through 10 pitchers of water in the first 10 minutes. It was also noted that at previous events, there were more reported incidents related to high-risk drinking. However, at this event, there were no incidences of property damage or other security reports related to alcohol. As a result, free food and water will continue to be provided at future events. This event demonstrated that providing food and water at events can be easy, quick and cheap. Actively providing food at events encourages students to use similar harm-reduction techniques when they are drinking off campus as well. Example #6: NorQuest College NorQuest College has a program called Creative Expressions, which is hosted over the lunch hour or after classes. The program focuses on engaging students in healthy alternatives to alcohol use, reducing stress and encouraging students to connect with each other. Every month a new activity or theme is introduced. Some activities that have been hosted include scrapbook therapy, music therapy and laughter yoga. NorQuest College counsellors have partnered with the students’ association and are present at each session to assist students. Because the Addiction and Mental Health 2017 prethink your drink Reduce High-Risk Drinking on Campus campus has students ranging in ages from 18 to 50+, the students’ association also tries to ensure there are activities that connect families. Family-friendly events throughout the year have included winter tubing during the Christmas season, and pumpkin carving during Halloween. Example #7: Keyano College At Keyano College, several initiatives are in place to create an environment that reduces high- risk drinking. In residence, alcohol-free events encourage students to take days off from drinking, have fun without alcohol and reduce isolation among students who choose not to drink. During the Christmas season, residence hosts an ugly sweater Christmas party, which offers free food and a hot chocolate stand instead of alcohol. Example #8: Lethbridge College The Lethbridge College Student’s Association (LCSA) hosts a number of events throughout the year to create a campus environment that promotes healthy coping methods during high-stress times, reduces high-risk drinking when alcohol is present and shows that students can have fun without alcohol. For example, LCSA hosted Uni-Tea, which encouraged students to make new friends and reduce stress by drinking tea. The event was hosted prior to exam week and during International Students Week. The LCSA handed out over 400 tea infuser mugs and Davids Tea was onsite to supply loose-leaf tea. To reduce harm during campus events where alcohol is present, the LCSA serves pizza for $1 per slice. Bartenders and security staff are all trained to monitor student drinking, provide complimentary pizza and stop serving alcohol to students who appear to have had too much to drink. At larger events, the LCSA hires Safe to Party, a company that provides free condoms and cab numbers printed on business cards. LCSA has also hosted a BYOB (bring your own blanket) event that was held in a student hangout space and featured two movies: one family oriented, so students with families could bring their children, and the other geared to those without families.