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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Administrators
in the Student Affairs Programs Development and Evaluation Department
of Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) were concerned about the
high number of alcohol- related incidents occurring on campus during
the 1997-1998 academic year. Evidence indicated that many of these incidents
were precipitated by binge drinking on the part of students. The university
sought to develop an alcohol awareness program for students that specifically
targeted binge drinking.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Majority Rules
Alcohol Awareness Campaign was initiated in 1998 to decrease the number
of alcohol-related occurrences on the SLU campus. Using a positive social
marketing approach, program planners specifically sought to:
- Decrease alcohol-related
incidents on the SLU campus by 20 percent during the 1998-1999 school
year
- Combine the two top priority
areas of concern addressed by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
into a successful campaign: Impaired Driving and Police Traffic Services
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
SLU officials believed
that it would be most effective to focus efforts on changing students'
attitudes, ultimately leading to changes in their behavior. As a result,
a very positive message was developed for the campaign. Data examined
from a recent study at Southern Illinois University revealed that 67
percent of student respondents indicated that they did not binge drink;
72 percent never missed a class due to drinking; and 67 percent had
never driven after consuming alcohol. The Majority Rules campaign
was designed to make SLU students aware that the majority of college
populations were practicing good judgement, responsible decision-making
and self-discipline. This Majority Rules theme was developed
into a logo, which was imprinted on stress balls, sports bottles and
t-shirts.
The Majority Rules campaign
was presented during National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, October
19th to 23rd, 1998. Activities associated with the campaign included:
- Dead Day in the Student
Union—The "Grim Reaper" arrived at the Student Union in a hearse,
and volunteers acting as "the dead", distributed cards reading, "I
am silent today to represent one of the thousands of people killed
in drunk driving crashes each year"
- Alcohol Traffic Safety
Game Show—A professional game show was brought to the SLU campus,
and participating students were asked questions to determine their
knowledge about alcohol and traffic safety
- Reverse Town Hall Meeting—In
this forum, a panel consisting of the university president, director
of the campus police department, counseling center director, city
district attorney, city police chief and representatives of the Illinois
Central Railroad and Louisiana Operation Lifesaver asked students
in the audience questions about their drinking behavior
- Day in the Pits—This
event included games and music with a disc jockey. Students took modified
field sobriety tests wearing Fatal Vision goggles
- Mocktails/Mock Crash—This
evening event included a presentation by a retired Mississippi State
Trooper; a "Mocktails" competition, in which twenty student organizations
competed to create the winning non-alcoholic beverage; and an elaborate
mock fatal crash demonstration
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