The reality is that if you ask the average student how much drinking he or she thinks is taking place on campus, the student will most likely grossly overestimate. We plan to enhance our system of collecting data on the realities of student drinking here at UD and improve our communication of those truths and realities to the campus community. The social norming strategy has become increasingly popular on college campuses since it was introduced by Northern Illinois University in 1990. In a recent New York Times article, NIU reported a drop in heavy drinking from 45 percent of students to 25 percent in 1998 and attributed the drop directly to the norming campaign. Providing discussion in the classroom will reinforce the overall message of healthy behavior.
Alcohol abuse is a concern on college campuses nationwide.
In the past, UD has focused on creating policies to stem excessive or underage drinking, such as limiting kegs in campus housing and stiffening penalties for underage drinking, including suspension on a third offense. Today, the University is marshalling student, faculty and administrative resources across campus to reduce abuse. We'll also move into a much more proactive stance. We'll be reactive when we need to be, but the focus now will be on anticipation and prevention.