On a Wednesday afternoon in December 1978, Dee Owens and her friends in student government gathered to celebrate the end of another semester at Indiana State University. The close-knit group decided to have a couple drinks at a local bar in Terre Haute. They said their goodbyes before hitting the road home. \nThe next day, Owens picked up a newspaper with a story that said one of her celebrating friends from the day before had been killed in a car accident while taking his girlfriend home to Mooresville, Ind.\n"And I bought the last round," Owens said, as her head dropped into her hands. Owens is now director of IU's Alcohol Drug Information Center. "Talk about changing your life forever. And that stuff happens all the time. Everybody knows somebody, and yet we keep telling ourselves that we are having a good time."\nTwenty-five years after she lost her friend to an alcohol-related accident, Owens is dedicated to alcohol education and abuse prevention. She heads ADIC, serves on several boards and contributes to many alcohol-related organizations that aim to protect IU students from making the same mistakes. \nOne of her most recent and ongoing projects has been the creation of "Successfully Managing Alcohol Responsibly and Together." Although officially released in early February, SMART has been an ongoing, collective effort of campus and community groups to put many of IU's programs that target alcohol abuse into one comprehensive package. Some of these programs have been in place for some time and others are new attempts to curb alcohol abuse.\nThe newest of SMART's initiatives is a mandatory screening for alcohol problems of all students who received a sanction for alcohol violations through the campus judicial system. The screening process was put in place shortly before spring break and will help pinpoint those students who are heading down a more dangerous path and need treatment. A screening now might prevent a more serious sanction or injury later.
Not just punishment\n Students screened after a sanction by the campus judicial system will meet clinical psychologist Dr. Walt Keller. But all students interested in the process can participate Thursday in National Alcohol Screening Day. The IU Health Center's Counseling and Psychological Services is holding screenings and other educational activities at three campus locations.\nSo far, Keller, who has more than 20 years of experience in treatment of chemical dependency, has received 80 referrals and completed 20 screenings. He said he has heard positive feedback from students and has been impressed with the students' willingness.\nBefore meeting with Keller, students complete an alcohol self-assessment survey, which is available at www.indiana.edu/~ caps/flyers/self alcohol.html. Keller reviews the survey with the student, gives feedback and suggests changes or treatment. He refers students to an educational program, the IU Health Center's Counseling and Psychological Services or a campus support group. The screening takes about an hour and a half, with follow-up visits if necessary.\nKeller said he has seen a variety of cases, including students who simply had bad judgment, those new to drinking who got swept up in the drinking culture, those who need more alcohol education and those with various degrees of drinking problems. With all cases, he said he stresses a confidential, safe and collaborative approach.\n"This is not a punishment or judgmental effort," Keller said. "What I'm trying to create is a safe place for students to look at themselves." \nIf the screenings continue to be effective, the pilot pilot will become a permanent program.\nA nationwide survey by the Center for Substance Abuse Research last November showed nearly one-third (32 percent) of students had been diagnosed as alcohol abusers and only 2 percent of those students sought treatment.\nOwens said the students screened at IU will be accountable for their behavior, but will still get the help they need.\nStudents screened by Keller might end up in Owens' four-hour alcohol information class, which is open to anyone on campus wanting to know more about the effects of alcohol use. In the class, Owens heaves the facts at her students, showing them the ugly and even deadly side of alcohol.\n "There are the health effects, the things you think will never happen to you, like liver cirrhosis," she said. "And then there's the impairment effects that can change your life today, killing someone while driving drunk or falling off a balcony."\n But Owens said whatever education IU gives its students competes with the images that students have received from the alcohol industry their entire lives. \n "For the vast majority of students, appropriate education is what is needed," Owens said. "But at the same time it's hard to fend off the 18 years of education they have seen through the media and advertising."
The need for education\n With research concerning alcohol abuse at its highest and enforcement at its limit, universities across the country are turning more and more to the educational and preventative approach. IU is no exception. Through SMART and the new screening process, the developers of the initiatives hope to address alcohol issues more effectively.\nAnd Dean of Students Richard McKaig is being bombarded -- bombarded by brochures, pamphlets, binders, booklets, papers, files, all telling him why and how he should deal with alcohol problems on campus. \nOn a recent morning in his office, he yanked down a white box from the cluttered top of a file cabinet and began pulling out even more sources of facts and figures. There are studies from Harvard University, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He's got drawers full. All these studies point to the harmful effects of alcohol, especially on underage drinkers. But not only does the research reveal how dangerous alcohol can be on college campuses, it reveals what still needs to be done. \n"Any single thing won't make a difference," McKaig said, "but they can when you bring them all together. The solution isn't just punishment and enforcement. It's multiple initiatives taken in multiple arenas over an extended period of time. Most students just think that the University's solution to deal with alcohol is to arrest students."\nHe admitted enforcement probably has gone up in recent years, but said it all comes down to greater awareness of a national problem. McKaig said IU has always made an educational effort when dealing with alcohol issues, but that isn't necessarily what makes the headlines. \nMany of IU's programs are usually overlooked or not realized as being alcohol-free programs, he said. These programs include late-night Union Board movies and the presentation of NCAA tournament games at Assembly Hall last year.\nSMART's force as a package will bring more attention to these plans. McKaig said the overall goals of SMART are to make the campus a safer place in regard to alcohol and to reduce the number of students who get caught in the judicial system because of irresponsible use of alcohol.\n \nDoing their part\nUnder SMART, the IU Student Foundation also is coming up with alcohol-free events to fill the agenda during Little 500 weekend. IUSF will distribute $250 grants to student groups that organize alcohol-free events. Applications are available at the Wilcox House, the Student Activities Office and the office of the Dean of Students, and will be accepted until April 21.\nAnd because most students know someone affected by alcohol, at least one of SMART's programs is taking a peer approach to preventing alcohol problems. TiPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) is a three-hour class promoted by the greek system that teaches students how to deal with potentially dangerous alcohol situations. Funded by SMART, the class is interactive and generates much discussion, said Greek Affairs Graduate Assistant Kevin McCord.\n"Since drinking is so prevalent, TiPS treats the students as experts because they've been out there and seen what happens," McCord said. "TiPS teaches students to recognize signs where alcohol may be a problem and gives them solutions and techniques to deal with those situations."\nAs of fall 2001, the greek system requires all new fraternity and sorority members to be TiPS-trained.\n"We found TiPS to be so successful and effective that we thought our entire community would benefit if everyone were TiPS trained," said junior Evan Waldman, Interfraternity Council president. "In a tough situation where you would normally be a bystander, now you have the skills to intervene."\nPeer intervention is something McKaig said he would like to see more of.\n"If we could convince students to hold their peers to responsible use of alcohol, we'd all be a whole lot better off," he said.\nFor all the attention IU generates about alcohol, McKaig said only about 5 percent of the student body has a hearing with the student judicial system because of alcohol violations. \nBut that doesn't mean SMART isn't needed. It's the tragic incidents and harmful consequences that get noticed and make alcohol problems addressed so heavily, McKaig said. Alcohol consumes the agendas of deans across the country and plays a role in so many other problems that can make a campus unsafe.\nOwens said she wishes the University community could focus on other things that come with the college experience. \n"Instead of education, we spend all of our time talking about alcohol when there is so much more going on in the world," Owens said. "You'll never have another time like your four years here and you want to drink it away. Have fun and be safe -- that's what we really want you to do"
