Higher Learning: Alcohol 101

Most Harvard students (93 percent) dont let alcohol interfere with academics.

This statistic is one example of a new approach to alcohol and drug education at Harvard University that will attempt to reduce the incidents of alcohol abuse and encourage the positive, healthy behaviors that most Harvard students exhibit.

My goal, as the director of alcohol and other drug services, is to create a comprehensive and collaborative substance abuse prevention program rooted in environmental management and focused on the health and safety of Harvard students. Environmental management is a comprehensive strategy for reducing high-risk alcohol and other drug use on college campuses. This approach stretches beyond general awareness and attempts to identify and change those factors in the physical, social, legal, and economic environment that contribute to alcohol and other drug problems. Such change can be achieved through the integration of a variety of programs, policies, and educational campaigns.

The cornerstone of our efforts will be focused on student-led initiatives. Such opportunities will provide for Harvard students voices and feedback being included in the development of programs and policies. In particular, I anticipate creating a unique Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisor (DAPA) program, with training being offered as early as spring term. Under this model, students will receive extensive training on a wide range of issues pertaining to alcohol and other drugs and will be empowered to serve as resources to their peers. DAPAs can exercise tremendous influence within their own social circles and will be provided with numerous opportunities to serve as both ambassadors and advisors to the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Services.

In addition, the College is embarking upon an ambitious targeted social norms marketing campaign, aimed at reducing negative consequences due to excessive alcohol consumption. By promoting the protective behaviors that students use to reduce the risk of incurring such negative consequences, we can begin to engage in a campus dialogue about alcohol and challenge the various myths and misperceptions that abound related to alcohol use. Such protective factors include eating before and/or during drinking, setting a reasonable limit and sticking to it, and alternating non-alcoholic beverages with alcoholic beverages.

In general, college students tend to grossly overestimate the number of their peers who engage in high-risk alcohol consumption, and Harvard is no exception. This misperception is believed to influence students to drink more heavily by changing their expectations surrounding drinking. In other words, students may feel pressured to drink because they believe that everyone else is doing it. The basic idea behind a social norms marketing campaign is to turn this dynamic around by using campus-based media to inform students about the more realistic levels of alcohol consumption among their peers. It is hypothesized that having accurate information about college alcohol use leads to changes in perceptions of drinking norms on campus and, in turn, may lead to fewer students engaging in high-risk drinking.

In order to implement this strategy, we are planning to prominently publicize these facts. Campus media campaigns will feature statistics about Harvard students which illustrate that most students are making healthy, low-risk choices with respect to alcohol use. A typical social norms message would be: 78 percent of Harvard students had 0 to 5 drinks the last time they partied. Because many students tend to overestimate the extent to which their peers engage in high-risk behaviors, providing realistic data on actual alcohol consumption levels will help to challenge existing misperceptions and may, in turn, lead to more moderate behaviors.

Data for the social norms campaign comes from a national survey instrument called the National College Health Assessment and is administered by the Center for Health and Wellness Communication at Harvard University Health Services. As we expand this program, students will be invited to review the data and assist in creating and testing messages. The campaign and other related initiatives will have a campus-wide impact, involving a variety of departments, offices, and student groups in order to strengthen connections and relationships on our campus. This is an excellent opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and administrators to work together to promote healthy and safe behavior among students and attempt to effect positive changes in our campus culture.

A demonstrated reduction in alcohol consumption may, over time, improve levels of academic performance and reduce instances of physical violence, unintentional injury, littering, vandalism, and exposure to sexually transmitted infections. By promoting student health and safety in this way, we hope to see an improved living-learning environment at Harvard.

My vision is to promote low-risk choices and healthy decision-making among students by taking a risk reduction approach to substance abuse prevention. By supporting and affirming the positive, healthy choices that most Harvard students are making, and by designing appropriate interventions for those students who may be presenting at higher-risk for substance abuse and dependency, we may begin to experience a culture-shift at Harvard that will surely enhance the living-learning experience of all members of the Harvard community. I look forward to working with you to improve student health and safety at Harvard and hope that you will join in our upcoming efforts.

Ryan M. Travia has been Director of Alcohol and Other Drug Services since July 2005. He has previously coordinated alcohol and drug education programs at Dartmouth College and Boston College. His office is in the Department of Behavioral Health and Academic Counseling at 5 Linden Street.