Contact: Maridith Geuder
When Mississippi State begins fall classes Aug. 20, the university will be among 14 national institutions using special United States Department of Education funds to target high-risk drinking among students.
Through a new $279,000, two-year grant, MSU is implementing a comprehensive, three-part program both to educate students about the risks of drinking and to establish non-alcoholic entertainment alternatives.
Project director Stuart L. Usdan is an assistant professor in the health, physical education, recreation, and sport department. A specialist in health education and health promotion, he will lead an effort that also involves MSU's Division of Student Affairs and its Center for Alcohol and Drug Education.
"Our collaboration will target incoming freshmen," Usdan said. Providing accurate information about drinking can help prevent potential problem behaviors, he added.
"Research shows correcting student misperceptions about their peers' drinking is associated with decreased drinking on campus," he said.
More than 100 institutions applied for the 2001 grants. In addition to Mississippi State, other institutions receiving awards are Michigan State, San Diego State, California State-Chico, Shenandoah, and Grand Valley State universities; the universities of California-Berkeley, Virginia, Arizona, Idaho, and North Florida; Hobart and William Smith Colleges; the Governor's Prevention Partnership in Connecticut; and the Montana Institute for Public Strategies.
Establishing an accurate picture of MSU social norms will be the project's starting point, "Students sometimes engage in behaviors because they think that's what other students do and expect," Usdan explained. "Our goal is to convey information that can help students make healthy choices."
Specifically, the program will include:
--Training senior residence hall assistants to be part of the peer education effort. "They're in direct contact with freshmen and have access to resources that can support prevention," Usdan said.
--"After Hours," a regular on-campus event featuring live bands, a club night and other activities suggested by student focus groups. Events will be planned for Thursday evenings, a time when national studies have shown increased student drinking.
--An interactive web site will provide a variety of information about drinking, including its costs. Among web site highlights will be streaming video of student leaders, coaches and other campus personalities reinforcing the program's messages.
"We're establishing a multi-faceted program that we believe will have an impact," Usdan said.
Mississippi State's Center for Alcohol and Drug Education was established in 1991 to conduct research and provide educational programs about substance use and abuse. It is housed in the Joe Frank Sanderson Center, the Starkville school's student recreation facility.