CU targets Greeks/athletes as part of campuswide prevention efforts

By Linda Grace-Kobas

Cornell takes an "environmental approach" in dealing with issues of alcohol and other drug use among students and provides targeted prevention programs to athletes and members of fraternities and sororities.

"We try to reshape the physical, social, academic, recreational, judicial/legal and economic environment in which students make choices about drinking," explained Timothy C. Marchell, director of substance abuse services in Cornell's University Health Services. "Our approach assumes that drinking is not simply a matter of individual responsibility."

"Given the overall national findings, these are important initiatives on the local level," said Philip W. Meilman, co-director of the Core Institute and head of Cornell's Counseling and Psychological Services in Gannett Health Center.

Student athletes and members of fraternities and sororities at Cornell must participate in health and drug/alcohol programs aimed specifically at them. All student athletes are required to take a Student-Athlete Health Awareness Course during their sophomore year, with two of the four sessions devoted to alcohol and other drug issues.

The athletics department has been selected for the NCAA Champs/Lifeskills program. Beth A. Howland, student services resource specialist in athletics, will attend a training session this month and expects to implement enhanced programs in life skills at Cornell.

More than 50 student leaders met last November to discuss issues related to high-risk drinking in the Greek community and hear a panel of speakers that included Marchell, Scott Hamilton of Cornell Police and Linda Falkson, now acting judicial administrator, reported Suzy Nelson, the Robert G. Engel associate dean of students.

In breakout sessions, students identified several recommendations for reducing high-risk drinking in the Greek system, which are being reviewed by a student committee and will be presented at a joint governing council meeting in the spring.

"Increased monitoring of parties and enforcing the policies in place will be one strategy for better regulating parties," Nelson said.

On a more global level, Cornell is undertaking a joint project with the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the University of North Carolina to develop a model program that uses media messages and student advocacy to foster student support for positive changes in the drinking culture on campus, Marchell said. A task force of administrators and a student advisory committee guide the project.

Among other efforts that target the entire campus are:

• To counter student misperceptions that most young people drink heavily at parties, a media campaign informs students that most of their peers drink in low-risk ways.

• A U.S. Department of Education grant awarded to University Health Services has supported a series of mini-grants offered to student organizations and staff groups to develop programming to change the campus environment to prevent violence and substance abuse. Mini-grants have supported alcohol-free social events such as "West Hour" and the "All-Nighter," various guest speakers and the development of a student mediation program.

• The Dean of Students Office, Community Development and student groups like the Natural Highs sponsor other alcohol-free social and recreational opportunities for students.

• CAPS is offering two groups dealing with substance abuse this term, in addition to ongoing individual services. One group is for students actively working through a recovery program, the other is a six-session educational group for students who have concerns about their use of alcohol or other drugs and want to sort out some of the issues.

• Students can access the Drug IQ network through Cornell's home page to learn important information about drug and alcohol use and abuse, as well as prevention services available to them.