Campus officials in Boulder and Fort Collins are working hard to get a handle on student drinking, but everybody knows there’s still work to be done.
The back-to-school atmosphere at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University has been quieter than a year ago when alcohol-fueled melees at CSU disturbed the peace on successive nights.
More tragically, last school year was marred by the alcohol-related deaths of CSU’s Samantha Spady and CU’s Lynn “Gordie” Bailey. As a result, both schools developed programs to teach students about the dangers of alcohol and to let them know that, no, not everyone is doing it.
Well, obviously someone hasn’t gotten the message. A CSU drinking party last week prompted university officials to strip one fraternity of its affiliation as a campus organization, and an administrator said that “the greeks at CSU will not survive another negative incident.”
Campus officials worked hard to steer this year’s students to be safer and more sober. And both schools have worked closely with city police to better patrol the neighborhoods around campus, an effort to snuff out problems before they start.
CSU’s Alcohol Task Force, empaneled last year, has deployed an in-your-face ad campaign called “Think About It” to warn students about possible outcomes of irresponsible drinking, and AlcoholEdu, a mandatory online course about alcohol awareness and abuse prevention.
CU launched an online course for freshmen called “e-CHUG” and provided safe partying tips to students in an e-mail. Next year, incoming freshmen will have to take a course to help them adjust to college life.
Both schools are trying to change “social norms” by making sure students understand the possible consequences of drinking. It’s too early to tell which of these programs will be effective. After all, student alcohol use isn’t a new issue and it isn’t going to disappear overnight. But, we’re glad to see the two schools addressing the problem while also trying to crack down harder.
