It is likely not too many people are aware it is Alcohol Awareness Month or that it is National Poetry Month. It is also National Garden Month, National Welding Month, Child Abuse Prevention Month and National Anxiety Month.
This is in addition to the numerous “days” and “weeks” that encompass the 30 days in April. Not to mention the hundreds of awareness days, weeks and months that come within a year.
A recent report by Harvard about binge-drinking on college campuses may have the answer for more than just how to decrease drinking. The report suggested the way to decrease student drinking is first to change students’ attitudes about the drinking culture on college campuses. The goal of “social norm” campaigns is to change how people perceive issues with the idea that once people really know how things are, problems will decrease.
For instance, many students think everyone drinks a lot so they should also. Yet, in reality most students are home studying — not partying — on a Tuesday night.
The report says these social-norm campaigns are a lot more effective than changes such as banning drink specials, because just banning drink specials will not get to the root of the problem.
This same theory can be expanded to all special days, weeks and months.
Last week was Holocaust Remembrance Week and this week is Sexual Health Week.
While both events seek awareness of a certain issue, they want two different things. Holocaust Remembrance Week wants to keep people remembering the Holocaust to prevent anything like it from happening again. Sexual Health Week, on the other hand, wants to decrease sexual health problems and sexually transmitted diseases by changing attitudes about sex.
Both issues are important to many people, and having special weeks only gives them an excuse to plan events. The truth of the matter is most people do not care what special day, week or month it is. No one knows that April 23 is school bus driver day or that this week is egg salad week nor does anyone necessarily want to know.
As is seen with binge-drinking problems on campuses, to solve the problem of drinking just one day or week or month is not going to solve the larger problem. Instead, an ongoing campaign is needed to change peoples’ attitudes about the social norm of drinking.
Declaring special times for issues does help some groups rally support for their cause and serve as a springboard to longer campaigns.
Yet, the reality for most special days, weeks and months is that the things they are supposed to be remembering are forgotten by the busyness of everyday life.
Katie Harbath is a junior majoring in journalism and political science. She is managing editor of the Badger Herald.