High-risk binge-drinking continues to be a concern at college institutions across the United States and at the University of Wisconsin. Ten nationwide universities, including UW, are a part of the Robert Wood Johnson funded program, A Matter of Degree, which has worked to reduce the negative consequences of alcohol consumption since 1996.

The AMOD 10 universities, evaluated by the Harvard School of Public Health, are measured next to a group of 32 control universities each year in the College Alcohol Study. The Harvard School of Public Health estimates alcohol factors in 1400 college student deaths each year and students spend approximately $5.5 billion a year on alcohol.

To battle the negative effects of high-risk binge-drinking, UW implemented the Policy, Alternatives, Community and Education program in 1996. PACE began implementing environmental changes, such as increased enforcement, tighter alcohol restrictions and limitations on alcohol distribution as a component of the AMOD program.

This policy-driven model moves away from education and targeting of individuals, according to Don Zeigler, deputy director of AMOD at the American Medical Association.

The AMA coordinates activities of all AMOD university sites and provides technical support while Harvard evaluates progress.

Changing public policy around a university community was never attempted until the AMOD program began and studies now show environmental policies decrease the number of secondhand effects students experience after high-risk binge-drinking, Zeigler said.

Changing policies begins in locations associated with high-risk drinking such as the Greek system, dormitories and house parties.

“You can start to change the culture of the community and the notion that high levels of drinking are socially acceptable,” Zeigler said. “But when you have a large number of bars around a university, it’s a challenge.”

UW’s PACE project has seen a fair share of battles in environmental policies.

Other university programs have found it easier to pass alcohol restrictions than UW, according to PACE Director Sue Crowley.

“In Wisconsin, it’s much more difficult to get policies passed on alcohol-related issues because those issues have a lot to do with social and recreational culture,” Crowley said. “A lot of the policies are ones that this campus and community wouldn’t really embrace.”

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, binge-drinking is defined as five drinks in one sitting for males and four drinks in one sitting for females.

Zeigler added students have four to five drinks just to “warm up” before going out.

“Forget about the drugs and other problems on campus — alcohol is the public health problem and we need to change it,” he said.

UW and drink specials

Drink-special limitations remained a hotbed of controversy in the past two years when a number of establishments in Madison had their drink-special bans removed. Establishments with limitations included Crave Restaurant & Lounge, Hawk’s, Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry, Kimia Lounge and others.

These establishments applied for new alcohol licenses but the city, under suggestion from PACE, enacted licenses with drink special restrictions to control negative consequences of binge-drinking.

No new licenses in the campus area were granted unless they agreed to the ban. Following a turnover in ALRC members, the committee began removing drink-special conditions to level the uneven playing field among bars in fall 2004.

While drink special bans no longer factor in the Madison bar market, a class-action lawsuit against PACE remains open.

A group of 24 local bars agreed to participate in a weekend voluntary drink-special ban in fall 2002.

These bars were forced into drink-special limitations, fearing the city would implement a more restrictive seven-day-a-week drink-special ban, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4. The participating bars allegedly price-fixed during the voluntary ban, which led a group of UW students to sue the bars involved.

Jeff Mackesey, facilities manager of the Irish Pub on State Street, said if the city were to try and enact stricter alcohol control policies again “they better make sure the law has a solid basis because a lot of [bars] would stand up.”

Mackesey added a struggling establishment, however, would offer drink specials to attract customers and become a “weak link” in keeping the downtown playing field level.

Mackesey said large-scale agencies do not understand the working environment of the independently owned establishments.

“They’re telling us what our industry is when they haven’t taken a good look at what’s happening here downtown,” Mackesey said. “I’m convinced that every week there’s a new public-health scare.”

Verveer, a PACE member, said despite his opposition to drink special bans, PACE has been able to extend late-night hours at the Southeast Recreational Facilities, libraries, unions and other locations.

Wisconsin culture may factor into the unsuccessful attempts to control drink specials. A study released in February conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control, concluded the location of colleges may play a role in student drinking behavior.

The study also found high-risk binge-drinking on college campuses is most prevalent in states where more adults are binge-drinkers and where state laws do not discourage excessive consumption.

According to Crowley, Wisconsin universities remain among the most alcohol-laced universities in the country.

Despite the difficult state culture, PACE successfully implemented alcohol-free residence halls and pushed for a letter to be sent to all incoming freshmen regarding UW alcohol policies. The university also shares a seat on the city’s Alcohol License and Review Committee and the Dean of Students office is now notified of student-on-student crimes involving alcohol.

Crowley said the “combination of strategies” has been the success — no one policy contributes to the decrease in negative effects.

Crowley added fewer students have been physically or sexually assaulted or involved with police or vandalism since PACE began. The number of patrons transported to detox has also decreased this year compared to the previous year.

PACE is supporting the upcoming Performing Arts Venue License in downtown Madison. This license would allow the 18-to-20-year-old crowd into alcohol establishments providing live entertainment as an outlet, according to Crowley.

“Pushing the PAV license is something we’re supporting for the 18-to-21-year-old crowd,” Crowley said.

These types of campus and community policies changes are featured across the other nine universities.

Louisiana State University’s AMOD program, the Campus-Community Coalition of Change (CCCC), is a partnership of 75 city, state and university constituents. LSU enrolls approximately 34,000 students and is located in the Baton Rouge community.

According to CCCC director Nancy Matthews, multiple policies have been the vehicle for change at LSU, similar to at UW.

CCCC is currently working on an ordinance to limit drink specials with LSU graduate students researching late night bars. The focus has been on establishments associated with excessive drinking by the youngest and least experienced students, according to Matthews. Public polls and campus focus groups have also looked into the issue.

“This is a very controversial issue and it frightens those in the business of selling alcohol,” Matthews said. “But we’re working very hard to prepare a way … to see if we can come to some reasonable efforts to reduce this type of selling of alcohol.”

Meanwhile the University of Delaware program, the Building Responsibility Coalition has successfully limited drink specials in Newark, according to director Tracy Downs. U of D, located in Newark, Delaware, enrolls approximately 16,000 undergraduates.

Drink specials are only available from 4 to 9 p.m. in the city. Before BRC was implemented some bars sold 25-cent drafts, while the majority now sell $2 drafts, Downs added.

“Students still think we’re trying to get people to stop drinking, saying we’re prohibitionists and that’s not the case,” Downs said. “We want to try and promote more responsible and safe drinking.”

The University of Iowa has also been working to promote a safer drinking environment. With an enrollment of around 28,000, U of I has implemented alcohol-free dormitories, alcohol restrictions in the football stadium and stricter enforcement initiatives, according to Jim Clayton, coordinator of the Stepping Up Coalition.

But the SUC has seen little cooperation from alcohol establishments in curbing drink specials. The city was able to control the amount of drinks a patron buys, limiting them to two servings at a time. This prevents a single person from buying a round of drinks for a group, limiting the distribution of alcohol to the 19-to-20-year-old crowd who are allowed inside Iowa City bars, Clayton added.

If every bar stool were filled on a Friday night in Iowa City, patrons would pay a conservative estimate of $30,000, according to Clayton. Students, however, often go out Thursday through Saturday, bar hopping and paying multiple cover charges, he added.

Policies

Although policies of the AMOD universities differ, some have been able to enact tighter restrictions to control alcohol-related student behavior than others.

At U of D, all students, whether living on or off-campus, are subject to a Three Strikes and You’re Out policy. According to Downs, first time alcohol offenders are fined $100, parents are notified and the student must attend an alcohol education class for two hours. The second offense is a $250 fine, parents are again notified and the student must see a substance abuse counselor. The third offense results in suspension.

“Strengthening the policies and increasing enforcement have worked,” Downs said. “Drinking is a liability issue and universities are being more cautious.”

The BRC program at Delaware has also released outreach programs including a Top 10 Reasons to Not Get Drunk crafted by students and released weekly around campus.

The SUC at Iowa has worked with the city to implement a Nuisance Property Ordinance to control continual house party disturbances. If police are required to go to a house or apartment for complaints twice within a 12-month period, the city requires the tenants, landlords and city officials to sit down and agree the complaints will not occur again. The city can revoke a landlord’s rental permit for 12 months or require the eviction of tenants if problems worsen.

“We find that it’s the same house or the same apartment year after year that kids keep going back to,” Clayton said. “There are different people living there, but the complaints are almost generational.”

Since the ordinance went into effect, the number of house parties decreased, Clayton added.

Similarly, the CCCC at Louisiana has worked with city organizations to control town policies.

The LSU environment features public parades and festivals, which oftentimes are associated with high-risk drinking, Matthews said. The CCCC established relationships with offices regulating festivals and parades to provide alcohol-free zones.

This is not a mandated policy but instead it recognizes a group who prefers not to be in an area where public intoxication behavior is prevalent, she added.

“We’re incrementally trying to reduce the incidents of excessive drinking on campus while always keeping in mind the goal is to reduce the negative consequences,” Matthews said.

Battling alcohol prices

The low-cost availability of alcohol is cause for concern, but changing the environment through policy work remains difficult, according to Zeigler.

“It’s cheaper to buy a beer than a bottle of water and soda pop — that’s wrong,” Zeigler said. “Alcohol is not an ordinary commodity; it has serious consequences when it’s used inappropriately.”

Zeigler noted raising the price of alcohol is tough, but increasing the price of alcohol licenses may aid in curbing binge-drinking. Other alternatives include increasing alcohol-related citations, which the city of Madison has recently exercised.

“Wisconsin has one of the highest rates of drinking in adults, a very active alcohol industry, and wholesale and retailers are incredibly powerful in a state like Wisconsin — that influences whether you can change policies,” Zeigler said.

Similarly, University of Colorado-Boulder and Florida State University were not among the high intervention policy schools, according to Zeigler. At these universities the active alcohol industry and high number of adult drinkers have influenced changes, he added.

Curbing binge-drinking among young people may require a more cultural change, Downs said, adding the promotion of alcohol and easy accessibility only push minors to drink further as a right of passage.

“Alcohol isn’t part of social occasion. It is the social occasion,” Downs said. “Changing that will take a larger effort.”