Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention

The consumption of alcohol and other mind altering drugs can present a significant threat to the safety and well being of students, staff, faculty, and other members of college and university communities. Intoxication increases the likelihood of personal injury and introduces the equally threatening problem of violence. A primary target in our strategy is high risk drinking which we believe is incompatible with achievement in higher learning centers such as the State University of New York.

The Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) program strives to enlist cooperation of all SUNY campuses in an Environmental Management Prevention Strategy - a comprehensive plan that guides programmatic, research, training and funding initiatives aimed at minimizing alcohol, and other drug related problems including unwanted attention, assault and related violence.

Specifically, the Environmental Management Strategy for prevention of alcohol and other drug problems invests resources to sustain multiple tasks including, but not limited to:

• Periodic assessment of alcohol and other drug use patterns among students and administrative efforts to implement evidence-based programs & practices;
  
  
• Population level preventative instruction on alcohol and drug related health risks and responsible decisions;
  
  
• Social marketing campaigns to deglamorize excessive alcohol use and accompanying destructive recreational patterns;
  
  
• Screening to assess abuse and dependency problems, with timely intervention and treatment referrals for highest risk students;
  
  
• Partiality towards alcohol free social and recreational activities;
  
  
• Review and revision of alcohol and other drug policies and procedures supporting efforts focused on wellbeing and healthy lifestyles;
  
  
• Enforcement of the minimum drinking age law, drug statutes, and conduct codes related to health and safety issues;
  
  
• Building effective community based coalitions as a bridge to respectful and responsible life styles on and off campus.

For more information, contact Ed Engelbride.

AOD Policies:

• Drug Free Workplace Act (11/88)
• Memo to Presidents Hazing and Binge Drinking Policy (4/03)  *      
• Memo to Presidents Student Code of Conduct (alcohol provisions) (4/04)  *      

SUNY's Initiative:

• Environmental Management Prevention

Related Links:

• Peer Education Collegiate Network - provides an ongoing dialog among sorority and fraternity on a wide variety of issues including alcohol and hazing issues.
• Center for Alcohol Studies at Rutgers - an invaluable and comprehensive resource for programming, training, research and current literature.
• NIAAA College Drinking - Changing the Culture on campuses through research driven and consensus programming ideas.
• Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Prevention US Department of Education - a central resource for training and model prevention products.
• Prevention Policy - Marin Institute - a policy oriented resource crafting model ordinances, laws and procedures aimed at minimizing access to alcohol.
• Prevention Hotlink National Clearinghouse - a resource for pamphlets, campaign posters brochures and related prevention products.
• National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - the authoritative source for research findings, and funding of basic and applied research.
• Social Norms Research Center - a resource that provides guidance on ways to effectively market social statistical data and how to avoid pitfalls.
• New York State Substance Abuse - the lead agency in New York regarding treatment and prevention of addiction.
• CORE Assessment Southern Illinois University - the home of an assessment instrument used widely among college populations to determine current behavior patterns.
• e-CHUG & e-TOKE San Diego State University - home of the self assessment tools used for individual identification of alcohol & marijuana risk behaviors.
• Social Host Liability - a resource that spell out risks associated with hosting parties where alcohol and under aged youth are present.
• Model Prevention Programs for Colleges - a resource for research based prevention programs that have been approved as reliable tools for prevention.
• State Alcohol & Drug Prevalence Rates - lists descriptive statistics for alcohol and drug use behaviors across various age groups for all states.