MEMORANDUM

 

 

TO:                 New CSS Students and Parents

 

FROM:          Larry Goodwin, President

                        Steve Lyons, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

 

DATE:            May 12, 2005

 

RE:                 Alcohol and CSS

 

Decisions about alcohol use are not just individual decisions.  These decisions affect the College community and all who live and learn here.  While St. Scholastica does not have the serious drinking problems that many other campuses have, we recognize that problems do exist here.  We are committed to addressing these concerns on our campus.

 

The extent and consequences of college drinking are well documented:

 

·       1,400 college students between ages 18-24 die each year from alcohol related injuries.

 

·       500,000 students between 18-24 are injured.

 

·       600,000 in this age group are assaulted by a student who has been drinking.

 

·       25% of college students who drink report receiving lower grades and other academic problems.

 

·       Health issues, vandalism, arrests, and alcohol dependence all increase with alcohol use.

                              Source:  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

                              National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2002.

 

 

Most of you have heard facts like this before.  What is important to us is what your experiences will be here at CSS.  We are committed to keeping St. Scholastica students healthy and successful, and to being a college partner in fighting the widespread growth of negative consequences of alcohol use by college students.  We know that 49 percent of our incoming students began drinking in high school.  And of those that never drank in high school, 50 percent will begin to do so in college.  Our country has created a culture that associates college attendance with drinking.  This culture is celebrated through advertising, movies, and television, and through stories passed down about drinking exploits.  Challenging and changing this culture requires a multiple layered approach.  We begin this process on the day students move in!  Our efforts will include:

 

·          Working with the current Student Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) organization on campus to help with the prevention of alcohol abuse.

 

·          Offering activities and creating living environments and policies that foster a healthy environment on campus.

 

·          Promoting healthy behaviors through individual and group approaches.  Individual contact, group training, peer support, attention to special groups, are part of our focus.

 

·          Working with the local police, liquor store owners, bar owners, and community agencies to monitor and address drinking behavior.

 

·          Managing program implementation.  We have made a long-term commitment to run a successful prevention program.

 

The College’s policies can be found on line at: www.css.edu/depts/StAffairs/StudentHandbook

and The Student Center for Health and Well-Being offers resources via their Web Site at www.css.edu/depts/schaw/education/alcohol/programs.

 

We ask for your help and commitment as part of our college community to ensure that the health of all of our members is not compromised by the misuse of alcohol.

 

Have a great year!