Southeastern NEWS
Southeastern Louisiana University
Public Information Office
publicinfo@selu.edu
SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
Date: 10/25/00
Contact: Christina Chapple 1
STUDY SHOWS SLU MAKING PROGRESS IN ALCOHOL EDUCATION
HAMMOND -- A new accountability report on alcohol at Southeastern Louisiana
University indicates that the university's concerted effort to educate students on the dangers of
alcohol and drugs is reaping results.
Jim McHodgkins, assistant dean for student development, said Southeastern's 1999-2000
"Alcohol Institutional Accountability Report," submitted recently to the university's
administration, shows that the university is ahead of many of its sister institutions in preventing
alcohol abuse through programs that stress education, intervention and self-policing.
While in the past, the university focused its alcohol education efforts during its annual
celebration of Alcohol Awareness Week -- scheduled this year for Oct. 23-27-- McHodgkins said
the university now offers more than 40 different programs year round that reach approximately
82,000 participants.
"Our goal is to change the attitude of students so that they learn that only a minority of
college students actually overindulge in drinking and that getting drunk is not the norm,"
McHodgkins said. "In fact, most college students drink very little or not at all."
Some of Southeastern's progress on the alcohol education front includes:
* A 53 percent reduction in the number of students sent through the judicial process
because of alcohol related violations -- from 88 to 41 students in 1999-2000.
* The addition of a board certified licensed substance abuse counselor in the University
Counseling Center to help expand educational intervention and therapy.
* The securing of approximately $71,000 in grants from agencies such as the Louisiana
Highway Safety Commission to fund alcohol programming.
(MORE)
ALCOHOL EDUCATION -- Add One
* Outreach to more than 40,000 Tangipahoa Parish students through the Recreational
Sports and Wellness Department's CHOICES program. CHOICES is designed to teach students
about the choices they have about drinking and the consequences of drinking illegally.
CHOICES reached an even wider audience when it was aired on WBRZ's "Sunday
Journal" program and on local cable channel FPTV. CHOICES was developed last year as an
outreach program for area high school students and has been widely praised as a model program
by local school officials and the Region IX Office of Addictive Disorders under the Department
of Health and Hospitals. It includes a skit by university students, a game show that brings
audience members onto the stage to answer questions about drugs and alcohol, and a compelling
video produced by Southeastern and Baton Rouge television station WBRZ.
In the report, Southeastern compared data obtained from a "Risk Behavior Survey"
conducted through the Student Government Association and questions from the university's
"Core Institute Study" to the national numbers on binge drinking contained in the Harvard
University School of Public Health Report on College Student Drinking.
The results show that we fared comparatively well in almost every category,"
McHodgkins said.
McHodgkins said that while the national average of students who binge drink is 44
percent, a recent student study shows that Southeastern's percentage is 27 percent. Binge
drinking is defined as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting for a male and four
or more for a female.
"Although it is great to be below the national average, to have 27 percent of our students
still involved in binge drinking is no reason to celebrate or rest on our laurels," McHodgkins
said. "There is still work to be done."
While nationally 23 percent of students said they had been involved in binge drinking
three or more times two weeks prior to the survey, at Southeastern the percentage was 9.1
percent. A total of 19 percent of students nationally said they had abstained from drinking over
the two-week period, compared to 51.8 percent at Southeastern.
(MORE)
ALCOHOL EDUCATION -- Add One
McHodgkins said Southeastern's surveys, which are conducted every two years, also
showed that 43 percent of the students said they had abstained from drinking for the last 30 days,
28.5 percent said that had not used alcohol in a year, and 18.2 percent said they had never used
alcohol.
"The key to our success has been the commitment from the President's Office on down to
the students," McHodgkins said. He also listed as contributing factors the revision and updating
of the university's alcohol policy to close loopholes, completion and adoption of a new alcohol
policy by university Greek organizations, the elimination of alcohol sponsorship from campus
activities, and collaboration with academic departments to incorporate training programs in their
classes.
"Southeastern has assumed an attitude of commitment to change which has and will
continue to enhance our entire community," McHodgkins said.
- SLU -
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newf00.htm