2/3 of RU students stop at 3 or fewer drinks.
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PURPOSE
The purpose of the "RU SURE? Changing the Culture of College Drinking" project is to correct first-year students’ misperceptions of excessive drinking as a norm. This project was funded by a grant from the US Department of Education Safe and Drug Free Schools Program and grants from the New Jersey Higher Education Consortium on Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention and Education.
GOALS
The specific goals of the project are to: decrease misperceptions of binge drinking increase the number of students who are able to accurately report the percentage of students who engage in dangerous drinking; reduce the percentage of first-year male and female students who drink dangerously; reduce the number of incidents of drinking-related violence on campus; and create an on going community coalition committed to reducing dangerous drinking.
RU SURE MEDIA CAMPAIGN Data collected from the Personal Report of Student Perceptions (PRSP) survey was used to determine healthy, alcohol-related, normative behaviors of Rutgers students. Campaign messages have been created to disseminate information about normative drinking-related behaviors. Undergraduate students in an Advanced Health Communication course participated in message creation, testing, refinement and dissemination. The primary messages of the campaign are that "2/3 of RU students stop at 3 or fewer drinks. Almost 1 in 5 don't drink at all."
TOP TEN MISPERCEPTIONS AT RUTGERS 1. RU students don't write papers at the last minute. 2. It's easy to find a parking space on campus. 3. Everyone who parties gets wasted.* 4. FAT CAT = Fat free and FDA approved. 5. There's always an empty seat on the bus. 6. Everybody at RU drinks.* 7. Everybody goes to first period classes. 8. Most students at RU drink to get drunk.* 9. You don't need shower shoes for the dorms. 10. Used books are cheap.
PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN An on-going public relations campaign was created to gain increased media coverage of normative drinking behavior at Rutgers. The RU SURE? project has received coverage on CNN, News 12 New Jersey, WWOR, and the Daily Targum (Rutgers student newspaper). Students in first-year residence halls at Rutgers College participated in experiential exercises designed to correct misperceptions about college drinking. Student perception of college drinking behavior both before and after their participation in this phase of the project will be assessed. COALITION BUILDING CHI team members workes with the New Brunswick Responsible Hospitality Resource panel which is comprised of staff and faculty from Rutgers University, local tavern and bar owners, representatives from the New Brunswick police department, the New Jersey Division of Alcohol Beverage Control, the National Committee on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, the town clerk, high school students and college students. Owners of bars and restaurants have agreed to sign pledges to support the “We Check for 21” program. By signing the pledge, restaurants and bar owners are making a commitment to ensure that alcohol is not served to individuals who are under 21 years of age.
RU SURE TODAY
The RU Sure Campaign contiues to be active on the Rutgers—New Brunswick campus. Upper-level communication students )in the Advanced Health Communication class) as well as peer educators bring the RU SURE message into first-year residence halls each semester. Detailed info about the campaign can be found in Changing the Culture of College Drinking (Lederman & Stewart, 2005). The book is available for order in the Research and Courses section of this site. |
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RU SURE? |
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