IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 321

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that college and university administrators should adopt a code of principles to change the

culture of alcohol consumption on college campuses.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 9, 1997

Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts submitted the following resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that

college and university administrators should adopt a code

of principles to change the culture of alcohol consumption

on college campuses.

Whereas many college presidents rank alcohol abuse as the

number one problem on campus;

Whereas alcohol is a factor in the three leading causes of

death for 15–24 year olds (accidents, homicides, suicides);

Whereas more than any other group, college students tend to

consume large numbers of drinks in rapid succession with

the intention of becoming drunk;

Whereas 84 percent of college students report drinking alcohol during the school year, with over half—44 percent—
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of all students qualifying as binge drinkers and 19 percent as frequent binge drinkers;

Whereas alcohol is involved in a large percentage of all campus rapes, violent crimes, student suicides, and fraternity

‘‘hazing’’ accidents;

Whereas heavy alcohol consumption on college campuses can

result in drunk driving crashes, hospitalization for alcohol

overdoses, trouble with police, injury, missed classes, and

academic failure;

Whereas the prevalence of second-hand effects from students

drinking alcohol ranges from assault, property damage,

and unwanted sexual advances, to interruptions in study

or sleep or having to ‘‘babysit’’ another student who had

drunk too much; and

Whereas campus binge drinking can also lead to the death of

our young and promising students: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

3 This resolution may be cited as ‘‘The Collegiate Ini4 tiative To Reduce Binge Drinking’’.

5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

6 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that,

7 in an effort to change the culture of alcohol consumption

8 on college campuses, all college and university administra9 tors should adopt the following code of principles:

10 (1) For an institution of higher education, the

11 president of the institution shall appoint a task force

12 consisting of school administrators, faculty, stu-
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1 dents, Greek system representatives, and others to

2 conduct a full examination of student and academic

3 life at the institution. The task force will make rec4 ommendations for a broad range of policy and pro5 gram changes that would serve to reduce alcohol and

6 other drug-related problems. The institution shall

7 provide resources to assist the task force in promot8 ing the campus policies and proposed environmental

9 changes that have been identified.

10 (2) The institution shall provide maximum op11 portunities for students to live in an alcohol-free en12 vironment and to engage in stimulating, alcohol-free

13 recreational and leisure activities.

14 (3) The institution shall enforce a ‘‘zero toler15 ance’’ policy on the illegal consumption of alcohol by

16 its students and will take steps to reduce the oppor17 tunities for students, faculty, staff, and alumni to le18 gally consume alcohol on campus.

19 (4) The institution shall vigorously enforce its

20 code of disciplinary sanctions for those who violate

21 campus alcohol policies. Students with alcohol or

22 other drug-related problems shall be referred to an

23 on-campus counseling program.

24 (5) The institution shall adopt a policy of elimi25 nating alcoholic beverage-related sponsorship of on-
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1 campus activities. It shall adopt policies limiting the

2 advertisement and promotion of alcoholic beverages

3 on campus.

4 (6) Recognizing that school-centered policies on

5 alcohol will be unsuccessful if local businesses sell al6 cohol to underage or intoxicated students, the insti7 tution shall form a ‘‘Town/Gown’’ alliance with com8 munity leaders. That alliance shall encourage local

9 commercial establishments that promote or sell alco10 holic beverages to curtail illegal student access to al11 cohol and adopt responsible alcohol marketing and

12 service practices.

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