Promising Practices: Articles

All too often, attention is focused on the negative aspects of Greek life, particularly with respect to the use of alcohol by fraternity and sorority members. National studies, local surveys, and incident reports are cited to documents that fraternity and sorority members are disproportionately represented in alcohol-related problems on and near campus. Particularly in the last year, we have found media attention provided to the deaths, injuries, and problems associated with excessive alcohol use; all too often, we find statements that the incidents involved events or members of fraternities or sororities. While it may indeed be true that fraternity and sorority members are disproportionately represented in these incidents, it may not be true that the fraternity or sorority organization(s) or system(s) caused, promoted, or otherwise allowed the incidents.

In this brief article, I want to shift the attention from the negative perspectives, from the accusations, from the blaming, and from the screaming to a more positive and proactive approach. I believe strongly that the incidents and deaths were preventable - that they were unnecessary and that they could have been avoided - and that action can be taken to reduce their existence in the future. Certainly, this is not a simple task - trying to reduce alcohol abuse is complex and must be viewed in its societal context; it must be perceived as a long-range initiative, it must be within a comprehensive framework, and it must have carefully planned and needs-based approaches. Beyond this, it is clear to me that addressing alcohol problems is a shared responsibility. Fraternities and sororities clearly share in this responsibility as campus leaders - this includes council and chapter presidents and officers, chairpersons and committee members, alumni boards, advisers, volunteers, and every member.

In a subsequent Campus Commentary article, I will focus on council, chapter, and individual development issues. For now, my emphasis is upon the strategies that the council and/or chapter can do as part of their own comprehensive approach. The context of these examples in the Promising Practices: Campus Alcohol Strategies initiative. Co-led by Dr. Gail Gleason Milgram of Rutgers University, this project involved two nationwide solicitations of all 3,800 colleges and universities; followed by a thorough review and selection process, this resulted in the identification of over 300 distinct strategies on nearly as many campuses. These "promising practices" represent the best of what our nation has to offer on addressing alcohol misuse and related problems, and include numerous specific examples which include fraternity and sorority members.

Turning specifically to what chapters and their members can do, it's helpful to examine some specific strategies from the Sourcebook.

Rhodes College sponsors a panel discussion by administrators and student leaders to discuss the college alcohol policy and its enforcement; Greek organizations are encouraged to require members to attend.

The University of Colorado at Boulder hosts a TEAM Campus Weekend which promotes responsible behavior and cultural change within the fraternity/sorority community.

Indiana State University offers a Greek Peer Advocate Program which trains students to be health resources for their chapters; "Greek Shops" are held on core health issues.

The University of Washington's Alcohol Skills Training Program applies the central principles of relapse prevention to primary and secondary prevention; its Project Dionysus tailors this information to all members of the pledge class.

The University of Washington also has recognition agreements with fraternities and sororities where special occasion licenses are required to help maintain and regulate access to events.

These good ideas reported by the campuses appear to be working with their populations and were deemed "promising" by the reviewers and our Advisory Panel. I strongly encourage you to consider each of these (as well as others in this resource that are not directly Greek-related) and decide which ones are appropriate for adopting and which ones are appropriate for adapting in your setting.

Note that the 300-page Sourcebook is available (FREE!) on disk and on our web site (www.promprac.gmu.edu); multiple copies of the Sourcebook are available for task forces. Please also keep an eye on our web site and other publications for our announcement of new resources available this Fall which illustrate specific ways of implementing the comprehensive nature of campus alcohol abuse prevention with a "Shared Responsibility" approach.

What is important throughout this process is to acknowledge the responsibility to take a stand - as a council, as a chapter, as a member, and as a Greek community - to implement something meaningful which helps address this issue. No one approach will make a difference, but lots of individual approaches certainly can. Not only is this helpful in being part of the solution of the problems associated with alcohol misuse, but it can also be helpful in addressing the image associated with alcohol problems faced by Greek-letter organizations


Background Information Authors and Advisory Panel About the Funder Articles Related Links	Sourcebook \| Action Planner \| Task Force Planner & Guide \| Highlights \| Publications CD
		Strategies and Solutions for Alcohol Problems By David S. Anderson, Ph.D. Director, Center for the Advancement of Public Health George Mason University All too often, attention is focused on the negative aspects of Greek life, particularly with respect to the use of alcohol by fraternity and sorority members. National studies, local surveys, and incident reports are cited to documents that fraternity and sorority members are disproportionately represented in alcohol-related problems on and near campus. Particularly in the last year, we have found media attention provided to the deaths, injuries, and problems associated with excessive alcohol use; all too often, we find statements that the incidents involved events or members of fraternities or sororities. While it may indeed be true that fraternity and sorority members are disproportionately represented in these incidents, it may not be true that the fraternity or sorority organization(s) or system(s) caused, promoted, or otherwise allowed the incidents. In this brief article, I want to shift the attention from the negative perspectives, from the accusations, from the blaming, and from the screaming to a more positive and proactive approach. I believe strongly that the incidents and deaths were preventable - that they were unnecessary and that they could have been avoided - and that action can be taken to reduce their existence in the future. Certainly, this is not a simple task - trying to reduce alcohol abuse is complex and must be viewed in its societal context; it must be perceived as a long-range initiative, it must be within a comprehensive framework, and it must have carefully planned and needs-based approaches. Beyond this, it is clear to me that addressing alcohol problems is a shared responsibility. Fraternities and sororities clearly share in this responsibility as campus leaders - this includes council and chapter presidents and officers, chairpersons and committee members, alumni boards, advisers, volunteers, and every member. In a subsequent Campus Commentary article, I will focus on council, chapter, and individual development issues. For now, my emphasis is upon the strategies that the council and/or chapter can do as part of their own comprehensive approach. The context of these examples in the Promising Practices: Campus Alcohol Strategies initiative. Co-led by Dr. Gail Gleason Milgram of Rutgers University, this project involved two nationwide solicitations of all 3,800 colleges and universities; followed by a thorough review and selection process, this resulted in the identification of over 300 distinct strategies on nearly as many campuses. These "promising practices" represent the best of what our nation has to offer on addressing alcohol misuse and related problems, and include numerous specific examples which include fraternity and sorority members. Turning specifically to what chapters and their members can do, it's helpful to examine some specific strategies from the Sourcebook. Rhodes College sponsors a panel discussion by administrators and student leaders to discuss the college alcohol policy and its enforcement; Greek organizations are encouraged to require members to attend. The University of Colorado at Boulder hosts a TEAM Campus Weekend which promotes responsible behavior and cultural change within the fraternity/sorority community. Indiana State University offers a Greek Peer Advocate Program which trains students to be health resources for their chapters; "Greek Shops" are held on core health issues. The University of Washington's Alcohol Skills Training Program applies the central principles of relapse prevention to primary and secondary prevention; its Project Dionysus tailors this information to all members of the pledge class. The University of Washington also has recognition agreements with fraternities and sororities where special occasion licenses are required to help maintain and regulate access to events. These good ideas reported by the campuses appear to be working with their populations and were deemed "promising" by the reviewers and our Advisory Panel. I strongly encourage you to consider each of these (as well as others in this resource that are not directly Greek-related) and decide which ones are appropriate for adopting and which ones are appropriate for adapting in your setting. Note that the 300-page Sourcebook is available (FREE!) on disk and on our web site (www.promprac.gmu.edu); multiple copies of the Sourcebook are available for task forces. Please also keep an eye on our web site and other publications for our announcement of new resources available this Fall which illustrate specific ways of implementing the comprehensive nature of campus alcohol abuse prevention with a "Shared Responsibility" approach. What is important throughout this process is to acknowledge the responsibility to take a stand - as a council, as a chapter, as a member, and as a Greek community - to implement something meaningful which helps address this issue. No one approach will make a difference, but lots of individual approaches certainly can. Not only is this helpful in being part of the solution of the problems associated with alcohol misuse, but it can also be helpful in addressing the image associated with alcohol problems faced by Greek-letter organizations David S. Anderson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at George Mason University's Center for the Advancement of Public Health. Promising Practices: Campus Alcohol Strategies is based at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Project Co-Directors are GMU's Dr. Anderson and Gail Gleason Milgram, Ed.D. of the Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University. Funded by a grant from The Century Council, Promising Practices: Campus Alcohol Strategies hosts a web site at http://www.promprac.gmu.edu; project staff can be contacted at 703-993-3697 or caph@gmu.edu.


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