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Campus: CSU Fresno -- January 28, 2005
CSU Launches New Alcohol Abuse, Misconduct Prevention Campaign for College Students Today
Training is underway at California State University, Fresno today (Jan. 28)
for a new $750,000 CSU Alcohol and Traffic Safety grant for 10 CSU campuses
designed to reduce alcohol abuse and alcohol-related crashes as well as
alcohol-related misconduct by college students.
The CSU Alcohol and Traffic Safety (CSU ATS) program was funded as part of $74.2
million in traffic safety funds awarded last year to 277 California state
departments and communities that are committed to improved traffic safety.
"This program works to change an environment from one where binge drinking is
socially acceptable to one that encourages more responsible behavior," said Sunne
Wright McPeak, Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, which
administered the funds through the Office of Traffic Safety. "The end result
will be increased awareness which translates into lives saved."
Headquarters for the CSU program is at Fresno State, administered through the
Division of Student Affairs. The 10 participating campuses are Bakersfield, Chico,
Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Pomona, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Marcos,
Sonoma, and Stanislaus. The CSU is the nation's largest university system with
23-campuses.
Representatives from the10 CSU campuses were expected to participate in the
two-hour training this morning in the Smittcamp Alumni House on campus that
launches the campaign, said Perry Angle, director of the new CSU Alcohol and
Traffic Safety. Dave Doucette, OTS regional coordinator, also is in Fresno today
for the training session.
Through a series of mini-grants, the new CSU Alcohol and Traffic Safety funds
will promote anti-DUI initiatives created by campus Alcohol Advisory Councils,
said Dr. Paul Oliaro, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at
Fresno State.
"The program addresses alcohol-related incidents at the college level, particularly
driving under the influence and campus misconduct," Oliaro said.
Specifically, the programs two key goals are to reduce the incidence of driving
after consuming alcohol by 18-25 year-old CSU students; and reduce alcohol-related
misconduct by CSU students -- both by five percent by Dec. 30, 2006.
The program's objectives are:
- To improve and/or develop partnerships with law enforcement to accomplish goals like increasing DUI checkpoints, campus policy enforcement, etc.
- To implement the training of at least 500 CSU beverage servers (on and near campus) via LEAD training in conjunction with ABC regional trainers by 9/30/06.
- To assist campuses in developing or improving on-line personal drinking assessment programs similar to e-CHUG (Check Up to Go), MyStudentBody.com, etc.
- To work with each campus to identify strategies to reduce availability and accessibility of alcohol, particularly to minors.
- Organize, schedule, and promote a minimum of four guest speakers for the CSU and/or CSU ATS campuses.
- To provide support to campus peer educators (Health Centers, Bacchus & Gamma clubs, SADD, etc.) through training and information dissemination efforts.
- To work with media throughout the state and at each campus to publicize the funding of the project, keep the public informed of its intent and progress, and to inform the general public about other alcohol related items and events.
This is the second such grant CSU has received for alcohol awareness and prevention
measures. In 2002, nearly $2 million in grants from state agencies was awarded to
the CSU to further curb abuse on its campuses.
Called the Sober Drive Initiative, that program's funds were used for training,
education, enforcement and prevention programs at its 23 campuses and also was
administered out of Fresno State's Student Affairs. In the previous CSU Sober
Driver Initiative, projects employed social norms marketing strategies to change
the misperceptions students have regarding college drinking.
"This project will emphasize managing the campus environment, peer education,
and law enforcement partnerships," said Angle, who is also director of the CSU
Sober Driver Initiative.
With the new program, both OTS grants have now served two-thirds of CSU campuses,
he added.
He said that Office of Traffic Safety data shows that fatalities in alcohol
involved collisions increased 8.3 percent - up from 1,308 in 2001 to 1,416 in 2002.
Since 1998, California has experienced a 32 percent increase in persons killed
in alcohol-involved collisions, according to the OTS. However, in OTS grant funded
cities, alcohol-involved fatal and injury collisions decreased 26.3%. In 2003,
1,445 people were killed and 31,337 injured in alcohol-related crashes in
California -- the fifth consecutive year of increases in alcohol-related
fatalities after more than a decade of decline.
For more information about the program, contact Angle at (559) 278-1908 or
Doucette at (916) 262-0990.
Contact: Tom Uribes (559) 278-5366 or 246-1717
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