Alcohol and Student Life By: Chrissie Fernandez

University of Florida Alcohol Policy “The University of Florida is committed to the welfare of its students, staff, faculty and the surrounding community. When individuals misuse alcohol academic performance, health, personal relationships and safety are compromised. The University of Florida neither encourages nor condemns the legal consumption of alcoholic beverages, however, the university recognizes that the majority of undergraduate students are below the legal drinking age. The University of Florida supports the strict enforcement of Florida’s liquor laws. No person may sell, furnish or give alcohol to any person under the age of 21.”

University of Florida Student Conduct Code (i) Alcohol Beverages Violations. 1. Under-age possession or consumption. Possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages by a student before his or her twenty-first birthday.

Alcohol Policy Critiques While the University of Florida recognizes that a large percentage of its student population is under 21, it is ignoring the fact that drinking occurs in our university before the age of 21 Obviously, the university cannot change the legal drinking age in the United States, but the university can change the way it deals with violations of the student conduct code (specifically, alcohol violations)

Prevention Problems related to alcohol are usually a result of binge drinking, not just drinking in general University of Florida alcohol policies should focus on prevention of binge drinking, instead of just meting out punishments A program should be implemented instructing students on how to drink responsibly, instead of lecturing students on not drinking at all The online alcohol test administered to all incoming freshman is not a solution, mostly because students do not take it seriously By ignoring the fact that students of all ages are drinking, the university is worsening the binge drinking problem instead of realistically addressing its issues

GatorWell Health Promotion Services “GatorWell's mission is to help create and promote a healthy campus community by providing individual and group educational sessions, campus outreach activities, and work on changing policies.” We’ve all seen the GatorWell booths throughout campus, with students handing out information on general health, sexual health, etc.

Implementation The university has made some progress with its anti-binge drinking ad campaigns found on buses around campus You know, the “sketchy drunk guys” ads But, MORE needs to be done New program should be designed and promoted by GatorWell, emphasizing the problem of binge drinking

Implementation GatorWell campaign could be similar to anti- binge drinking campaign that the United Kingdom’s Home Office is running right now: o o The ad campaigns stress knowing your limits

Implementation At the beginning of each semester, GatorWell representatives could travel to all different classrooms and give a brief presentation on responsible drinking They could talk about realistic issues that students could relate to, such as: How much beer a single person consumes during a beer pong game, what types of alcohol should not be mixed together, etc. Hand out pamphlets, and maybe even (heaven forbid!) breathalizer keychains, so that students can know when they are unable to get behind the wheel of a car (instead of punishing them with a D.U.I. when they do)

The Bottom Line We all know that most young people think they’re invincible, so anti-alcohol ads like this  …don’t really make much of an impact, but …

The Bottom Line …we do know that young people tend to care about how other young people perceive them, so why not run ads and implement a program that makes more of a social impact, like this 