|
Project
Characteristics |
|
Collaborative
(public and private)
|
|
Program
Areas |
|
Youth
Programs
Alcohol
and Other Drugs
|
Type
of Jurisdiction |
|
Illinois
College Campuses |
Targeted
Population |
| College
Students |
Jurisdiction
Size |
|
40,000
|
Funding |
|
163
Funds: $8,600
State
Funds: $20,160
The
Great Plains Group: $10,000
|
Contact |
| Mr.
Gene Brenning
Bureau
Chief, Safety Prog.
IL
Dept. of Transportation
P.O. Box 19245
3215
Executive Park Drive
Springfield, IL 62794-9245
(217)
785-3024
|
|
Digest
Listing
|
|
|
|
ILLINOIS
Social Norm (SONOR)
(PDF Version)
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
According
to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 16-24 year olds comprise only
15.52 percent of the licensed drivers in Illinois; however, they are involved in 38.85 percent of all fatal alcohol-related
crashes. Alcohol use and abuse is a serious problem on Illinois college campuses. One contributing factor is alcohol serving establishments’
flexibility on how old patrons must be to enter, from one college campus to
another. At Eastern Illinois University (EIU), a youth must be 21 years old to
enter. Just 50 miles north of EIU is the
University
of Illinois (U of I) main campus where students can enter alcohol serving establishments on
campus at age 19. Another factor affecting underage drinking on college
campuses may be perceptions and misperceptions about the social acceptability of
drinking on college campuses.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
SONOR, the name of a
registered students’ organizations on three Illinois
campuses, focuses on engaging students to prevent substance abuse and
reduce the number and severity of alcohol-related traffic crashes
involving students.
The project's objectives are to:
- Reach 40,000 college students per year;
- Use the social norms marketing approach to correct perceptions and
misperceptions about the social acceptability of underage drinking and
underage drinking and driving on college campuses; and
- Provide college students with information on the perils of alcohol
use and abuse that resonates with their peers.
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
SONOR implemented the following
strategies to achieve its goals:
-
Formed
a student group with faculty and staff advisors; however, primary
responsibility is with the students. Each SONOR chapter is a
registered student organization set up as a nonprofit corporation.
-
Assigned students to the roles of president, vice
president, director of marketing, graphic designer, and project manager.
-
Organized two meetings per week in addition to special
project meetings for mailings, information blitzes, and university functions.
-
Used institution-specific social norming messages in
student-created marketing materials.
-
Targeted the entire EIU campus in its first year to gain
an identity, and then focused marketing efforts primarily on freshmen in the
following years.
-
Collaborated with the Great Plains Group (an
advertising, marketing, and public relations company) that provided funding.
RESULTS
In
2003, an administrative evaluation of the SONOR program yielded
these findings:
-
There
are many benefits associated with the unique business/university
partnership. For example, student members develop a business-like
demeanor, have high expectations and commitment, and develop
competencies in marketing and social norms. -
Slogans and messages associated with various social
norms campaigns are easy for the campus community to remember and have a high
visual appeal.
-
Marketing materials are often mistaken for professional
quality work rather than student work.
-
University administration views SONOR as a key
element in the campaign against underage drinking and points to it as a
successful and visible effort.
-
There were no alcohol-related student fatalities on the
EIU campus during the SONOR project.
-
Two additional SONOR chapters were formed: one at
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU-C), with an enrollment of 25,000,
and at Bradley University, a private school in Peoria with 6,000 students
enrolled. The programs will be evaluated this year and in succeeding years to
see if the public/private campus can be successfully adapted.
-
There are challenges involving location of the SONOR
chapters within the institution (for example, whether the chapter should be
housed in Student Affairs or the College of Education).
|
