Campus alcohol debate: Outlining the TCU Senate strategy

As the debate around alcohol consumption and policy continues here at Tufts, it is essential that the agenda, strategies and desired outcomes of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate remain transparent to the student body. Transparency is needed to ensure that all students at Tufts feel confident that the Senate is representing their best interests and are comfortable contacting the Senate with their own opinions. With that in mind, the aim of this op-ed is to highlight the basic plan that the Senate, and specifically the Administration and Policy Committee, has developed to ensure Tufts' new direction on alcohol is both fair and effective.

This piece will begin by discussing the elements that any good alcohol strategy ought to tackle and will then move into describing a Tufts-specific policy aimed at addressing those elements. It is important to note that none of this will be immediately turned into policy — it is critical that the Senate continues to work through the Alcohol Task Force, Alcohol Steering Committee and student body at large to ensure that the final plan represents the best option for all relevant parties.

The following are five basic elements that any alcohol strategy ought to concentrate on:

1. A good alcohol policy keeps everyone safe.

A reduction in severe incidents, alcohol abuse and unsafe behavior is the bottom line for all alcohol policy.

2. A good alcohol policy must not punish the entire collective for the actions of a select, fringe group of people.

If consumed responsibly, alcohol can be a social benefit -- and the majority of our students drink alcohol responsibly. Thus, when discussing the greater climate on campus, it is absolutely critical not to lose sight of the majority of students who do behave. A good alcohol policy does not target everyone; rather, it focuses on the extreme minority of students that believe drinking in excess is appropriate behavior. Changing the behavior of those students must be the priority because punishing everyone is more than unfair — it's an unwise policy. Marginalizing the drinking of students who already behave will not solve the over-consumption problem, especially if it does not deter the extreme minority that does overindulge.

 3. Behavior change ought to be the underlying goal of any good alcohol policy.

The over-consumption of alcohol is not a surface-level concern at college; it is rooted in deeper social norms and intertwined with the very essence of collegiate social life. Right or wrong, for better or for worse, there is a contingency of people who believe that alcohol binging and college are inseparable. Thus, when crafting a policy to address the larger issue, the goal needs to be behavior change — a dramatic shift in the culture of drinking. Overly punitive measures or unrealistic campaigns will only change the way drinking occurs on campus, such as pushing it off-campus or making it more secretive. A good alcohol policy does not try to put a punitive band-aid on a broken arm; it actually encourages students to re-examine their own habits and motivate positive behavior change.

4. A good alcohol policy ought to reflect the actual mindset and circumstances students face.

Alcohol training, health classes and other prevention techniques can only do so much. In numerous studies attempting to figure out why or how students curb their drinking, the vast majority of students believe they simply need to grow out of alcohol — that it's just a maturation thing. Students argued that they needed a few years to experiment and get things out of their system, and that once they started growing up, they just grew out of extreme binge drinking. How can this trend be reconciled with the need for an alcohol policy? Easy. If a student just needs to grow, a good alcohol policy does two things: It helps provide information that allows students to grow out of alcohol faster, and it provides security nets for the occasions when students make poor choices during their growing-up process. A policy that does these two things, actively in line with the student experience, is much more likely to influence behavior change.

5. No policy can ever do it all, and students need to remember that we must behave ourselves.

Freshmen, seniors, senators ... everyone has made mistakes. However, it is critical to remember that we must improve. The administration didn't come to re-examine alcohol policy on its own; it was pushed by a student body that has been having a large number of serious alcohol issues. It's imperative to remember that the administration is cracking down for a reason; it wants to make sure students are safe. Similarly, the reason the TCU Senate is devoting so much time to the creation of a new policy is to also make sure that students stay safe. This puts the burden on us, the students. We need to remember that when one of us gets out of control, it can affect the entire student body. Again, no policy can solve everything, and we all need to show that we are committed to acting safe as well.

The Senate Strategy

With all of this in mind, the Senate has developed a two-tier strategy that it will lobby for in the Alcohol Task Force and in the Alcohol Steering Committee. However, it is imperative to note that this plan is always susceptible to being changed. If you have any qualms with what is outlined here, any suggestions or improvements to the plan, please contact a senator. Also, the Facebook.com group "Tufts Forum on Alcohol Policy" is a great way to be heard. The entire point of this op-ed is to get student feedback on the direction the Senate plans to take, so your individual feedback would be much appreciated.

First, the Senate believes that a thorough social norms marketing campaign will highlight information that allows students to make better choices and grow more quickly. A social norms marketing campaign is a standard marketing campaign aimed at correcting social misperceptions. In this case, the campaign would conduct a very detailed summary of Tufts' drinking habits, perceptions of drinking habits and other relevant information. Then, a giant media blitz would expose students' common misperceptions in an attempt to have students re-examine their own habits. Social norms marketing campaigns have been used in over 100 schools in the past decade, with all of them reporting major declines in alcohol over-consumption.