By Sarah Buop, The Miami Student
Miami University students have begun to question the Alcohol Task Force's recommendations and their effectiveness in reducing the high-risk drinking culture on campus. The task force released a report last Monday, March 30.
President David Hodge announced the report to students via email, explaining that a newly formed Alcohol Coordinating Committee (ACC) will be taking action to find ways to improve the drinking behavior at the university.
According to the report, Miami students' high-risk drinking rates have continually ranked higher than the national average. The report states that the number of non-drinking students decreases after four to six weeks of students arriving at school. In other words, Miami students are less likely to remain non-drinkers - and more likely to participate in alcohol consumption - when they arrive at school, compared to the national average.
After receiving a notification about the report, students are having a difficult time believing that Miami's drinking problem is different from other schools and that the report will help change students drinking habits.
Junior Emily Anderson said she, like other Miami students, remains unclear as to what the task force even is or does.
"I feel there is some confusion on what the task force really is," Anderson said. "To me I thought it was just a series of seminars or info sessions, and I had no idea it was a set plan over time to increase safety and better decision making."
Junior and president of Miami's Delta Gamma Fraternity, Rachel McVicker, said she believes the Miami drinking culture could be related to the small town that the campus is located in.
"I don't necessarily think Miami has a drinking problem, per se. Drinking has become a part of Miami's culture due to the small college town feel," McVicker said. "Oxford does not supply a giant mall or other weekend activities like a big city as Columbus does, so students turn to what they know will burn off steam from the stress of the past week: drinking."
The ACC said it expects no immediate changes in the drinking culture. Instead, the task force is implemented to help create a safer drinking environment over an extended period of time, and the ACC wants to use this task force for students to voice their opinions on the issue and be a part of making the change.
Director of Student Wellness, and co-chair of the task force, Rebecca Baudry Young, gave a breakdown on the goal the ACC has for the reports.
"The overall goal of the Alcohol Coordinating Committee (ACC) is to create an infrastructure that includes students and other members of the Miami University community to serve as an advisory board guided by data, best practices and research on issues related to high risk alcohol and drug use," Baudry Young said.
According to the report, the ACC will be creating workgroups to address specific issues involving alcohol consumption, and to gain response on what students feel the main problems the campus has involving alcohol.
ASG secretary for Off-Campus Affairs, Kevin Krumpak, discussed how student involvement is highly recommended to help create a safer drinking environment.
"The most important part of these coordinating committees is the student involvement," Krumpak said. "Without having the student voice heard when making these policy decisions, the efforts will ultimately fail."
Members of the ACC understand that drinking is something that cannot be eliminated in the weekend culture at Miami. Their main focus is to gain student involvement, since the students are the ones who can make real changes to the drinking culture.
Jayne Brownell, vice president of Student Affairs and member of the ACC, recommended students and the community view the task force as a long-term attention to culture.
"It was very clear in our conversations that there's no one magic thing that we could change that would shift Miami's culture around alcohol use," Brownell said. "Instead, we laid out a plan that will guide our work over the long term, hoping that in time, we will have a culture where alcohol can be a part of students' social lives instead of the center of it, and where we see fewer negative consequences for individuals and our community from high-risk choices around alcohol use."
The ACC recommends for all students who feel the Miami drinking culture is an issue should stand up and voice their opinion. The task force was implemented to get students talking and to work together as a community to help incoming freshman and others realize that drinking is not the only thing students do to have fun.
The ACC will be presenting their final recommendations of the Task Force to the Board of Trustees in June, and will continue to send periodic updates throughout the semesters.