Spring Break
The Daily OrangeAlcohol education campaign comes to SU
Statewide underage drinking prevention program gives $10,000 grant
By Catherine Basham
Posted: 4/9/08, 10:47 PM EST Section: News
Before arriving on campus, incoming freshmen must spend a few hours of their summer clicking through the AlcoholEdu online education program. The online program was most students' first encounter with underage drinking prevention at Syracuse University.
Now, there's a new campaign aimed at students to inform them about the dangers of alcohol abuse.
The "Underage Drinking: Not a Minor Problem" campaign has won national recognition and been implemented at other universities across the state. Last week, the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) announced a $10,000 grant for SU to install the program.
The campaign consists of multimedia advertising and public relations efforts to target college students and their families with information about underage drinking. It includes newspaper, television and radio advertisements.
Ads will appear in the The Syracuse New Times, The Post-Standard, The Daily Orange and in campus Centro buses and bus stops. Plans are also in the works for commercials to air on the local public broadcasting station WCNY and before movies at the Carousel Mall, said Sarah Mart, director of the Office of Prevention Services at SU.
The information in the campaign comes from materials developed for a statewide audience, so not all of the messages are tailored to resonate with SU students in particular, Mart said. OASAS asked college students for feedback about the effectiveness, in hopes that the messages could reach a broad audience.
But some students might think drinking is so ingrained in college life, messages like these are of little use.
"Unless the advertisements are saying anything other than what is already general knowledge, I doubt they'd have a significant effect," said Chauncey Brown, a junior biochemistry major.
A 2003 study revealed that all measures of underage alcohol use have significantly decreased compared to 1998. The number of students who drank alcohol in the past year dropped from 58 percent to 51 percent and in the past month from 42 percent to 34 percent. The number of students who binge drink has dropped from 34 percent to 29 percent, according to information provided by OASAS, which collects data regularly to gauge the success of its programs and campaigns.
The programming launched in February and will continue through May, with the possibility of extension into the fall. Mart said the end of the spring semester is an especially important time for students to consider these messages.
"We know that when the sun comes out and springtime comes, everyone comes out of where they've been burrowed for the winter," Mart said. "It's important to remember that this is a very celebratory season coming up ... and for students to just keep safety in mind."
cvbasham@syr.edu
Now, there's a new campaign aimed at students to inform them about the dangers of alcohol abuse.
The "Underage Drinking: Not a Minor Problem" campaign has won national recognition and been implemented at other universities across the state. Last week, the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) announced a $10,000 grant for SU to install the program.
The campaign consists of multimedia advertising and public relations efforts to target college students and their families with information about underage drinking. It includes newspaper, television and radio advertisements.
Ads will appear in the The Syracuse New Times, The Post-Standard, The Daily Orange and in campus Centro buses and bus stops. Plans are also in the works for commercials to air on the local public broadcasting station WCNY and before movies at the Carousel Mall, said Sarah Mart, director of the Office of Prevention Services at SU.
The information in the campaign comes from materials developed for a statewide audience, so not all of the messages are tailored to resonate with SU students in particular, Mart said. OASAS asked college students for feedback about the effectiveness, in hopes that the messages could reach a broad audience.
But some students might think drinking is so ingrained in college life, messages like these are of little use.
"Unless the advertisements are saying anything other than what is already general knowledge, I doubt they'd have a significant effect," said Chauncey Brown, a junior biochemistry major.
A 2003 study revealed that all measures of underage alcohol use have significantly decreased compared to 1998. The number of students who drank alcohol in the past year dropped from 58 percent to 51 percent and in the past month from 42 percent to 34 percent. The number of students who binge drink has dropped from 34 percent to 29 percent, according to information provided by OASAS, which collects data regularly to gauge the success of its programs and campaigns.
The programming launched in February and will continue through May, with the possibility of extension into the fall. Mart said the end of the spring semester is an especially important time for students to consider these messages.
"We know that when the sun comes out and springtime comes, everyone comes out of where they've been burrowed for the winter," Mart said. "It's important to remember that this is a very celebratory season coming up ... and for students to just keep safety in mind."
cvbasham@syr.edu
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