Alcohol Resolution Draft, Updated

Tufts Community Union Senate A Resolution in Support of a Healthy Alcohol Strategy for Tufts 1 2

WHEREAS drinking at Tufts has reached dangerous levels, as evidenced by the increased severity of Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) alcohol-related calls; and

3 4 5

WHEREAS in the 2001 Tufts Alcohol Study, “The majority of respondents (60.2%) knew someone who had been hospitalized or transported to the hospital because of alcohol use at Tufts”1; and

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WHEREAS the 2001 Tufts Alcohol Study found that “two-thirds (67%) of all Tufts students drink alcohol one or fewer times in a typical week”2; and

8 9

WHEREAS the 2001 Tufts Alcohol Study also found that Tufts students have highly distorted perceptions of social norms regarding alcohol consumption3; and

10 WHEREAS “social norms” marketing has been shown to reduce dangerous 11 drinking behavior2; and 12 WHEREAS in the 2001 Tufts Alcohol Study, “one in three respondents (33.8%) said they 13 feel either overt or subtle pressure from others to drink”3; and 14 WHEREAS abusive alcohol consumption can impact not only the partaker, but can also have 15 adverse consequences on other students, such as in cases of sexual assault4; and 16 WHEREAS individual alcohol intervention strategies, such as the Brief Alcohol Screening 17 and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program, have been shown to be effective in 18 changing dangerous drinking behavior5; and 19 WHEREAS students often have incomplete information about the signs of alcohol abuse, 20 including but not limited to alcohol poisoning and alcohol dependency; and 21 WHEREAS the 2001 Tufts Alcohol Study recommended “a positive health and safety 1 2

3

http://ase.tufts.edu/healthservice/documents/Alcoholstudy.pdf ibid http://ase.tufts.edu/healthservice/documents/Alcoholstudy.pdf

2

http://www.higheredcenter.org/research/declining-negative-consequences-related-alcohol-misuseamong-students 3

http://ase.tufts.edu/healthservice/documents/Alcoholstudy.pdf

4

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-1/43-51.pdf

5

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1797804/

Respectfully submitted on 8 November 2009 by Bruce H. Ratain, Jonathan Danzig, Yulia Korovikov, Chas Morrison, Wyatt Cadley, Noble J. Dilday

Tufts Community Union Senate 22 23 24 25

A Resolution in Support of a Healthy Alcohol Strategy for Tufts approach…rather than a negative punishment approach”, noting that some researchers suggest that “college students are motivated by positive messages that align with their values. They tend to be less responsive to rule-based approaches than to positive visions of their role”6; and

26 WHEREAS data from the study shows that “first-year drinkers drink more heavily (in 27 amount consumed) than do seniors”7; and 28 29 30 31 32

WHEREAS concerns have been raised that the new policy makes students increasingly averse to calling TEMS, and the 2001 Tufts Alcohol Study found that “a number of students reported having friends ask them not to call TEMS for fear of both unfounded and actual repercussions. This pressure not to call TEMS creates a situation in which a student could be in serious danger but not receive immediate assistance that might mitigate harm”10; and

33 WHEREAS Tufts lacks late-night weekend programming, as evidenced both from a cursory 34 examination of scheduled events11 and from concerns raised by non-drinking students; 35 therefore, 36 BE IT RESOLVED that student safety and changing dangerous drinking behavior be the 37 primary goals of any alcohol policy; and 38 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate concurs with 39 the assertion made in the 2001 Tufts Alcohol Study that “if Tufts' goal is to create a healthy 40 campus environment, then students cannot feel discouraged from calling TEMS”12; and 41 42 43 44

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate calls for the revision of the current alcohol policy such that, for a first alcohol offense, a student will be placed on Probation-1 unless the student completes the BASICS program with the Director of Health Education; and

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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate also calls for the further revision of the current alcohol policy such that, for a second alcohol offense, a student will automatically be placed on Probation-1 and shall be required to meet with the Judicial Affairs Officer and the Director of Health Education for an evaluation, with potential additional measures to be taken as a result of this evaluation including notification of parents, further alcohol counseling, Probation-2, forced medical leave, or any other actions deemed appropriate; and

6

http://ase.tufts.edu/healthservice/documents/Alcoholstudy.pdf

7

ibid

10

Ibid

11

ibid

12

ibid

Respectfully submitted on 8 November 2009 by Bruce H. Ratain, Jonathan Danzig, Yulia Korovikov, Chas Morrison, Wyatt Cadley, Noble J. Dilday

Tufts Community Union Senate A Resolution in Support of a Healthy Alcohol Strategy for Tufts 51 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate advocates for a fully supported and 52 comprehensive social norms marketing campaign with regards to alcohol on the Tufts 53 University campus; and 54 55 56 57

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate calls for a reevaluation and expansion of New Student Orientation alcohol awareness programs for incoming students, and further calls for the consideration of increased training for Resident Assistants (RAs), Orientation Leaders (OLs), and the leaders of Pre-Orientation groups; and

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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate calls for the creation of comprehensive, preventative educational programs outside of the New Student Orientation, with an emphasis on educating students about responsible drinking, the signs of alcohol poisoning, and the dangerous health and social impacts of drinking; and

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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate calls for the increased support of students who choose not to drink and those in recovery to include the creation of late night, alternate weekend programming at Tufts to provide for viable alternatives to events at which alcohol is present, and the consideration of designated housing for students in recovery; and

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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate calls for the creation of a strategic partnership between Greek houses, the Tufts Health Service, and Public Safety, for the purpose of establishing increased collaboration between actors, and preserving Greek parties as safe and viable social events for the Tufts community, to potentially include measures such as Health Safety Certifications for Greek members, and event registration safety meetings.

Respectfully submitted on 8 November 2009 by Bruce H. Ratain, Jonathan Danzig, Yulia Korovikov, Chas Morrison, Wyatt Cadley, Noble J. Dilday