On Thursday, Boston University held an Alcohol Policy Town Hall to promote Alcohol Awareness Week, which is being held from October 16th-23rd on BU’s campus. At the meeting, which was sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy, representatives from the BU Police Department, Student Health Services, and the BU School of Public Health discussed the current policies and consequences regarding alcohol use. Alcohol Awareness Week deals with alcohol messaging and ways to educate students on decision-making in relation to alcohol.
The representatives from Student Health Services, Dr. David McBride and Elizabeth Douglas, discussed the Alcohol Task Force—a program that serves to determine ways to keep students safe at BU when drinking. A slide show behind them flashed college-drinking facts while they explained the purposes and objectives of the Alcohol Task Force.In short, harm reduction is the main goal while also enforcing evidence-based interventions to promote informed decision-making.
While directly focusing on the individual, community, and population in relation to alcohol use, William DeJong, PhD, centered on the concept of environmental management. A professor in the BU School of Public Health, Dr. DeJong believes that students should be invited as partners in community-based intervention. Statistics from an alcohol study that he presented supported the idea that the majority of students endorse environmental management policies, especially stricter enforcement. In addition, he stated that institutional/community factors contribute to the need for environmental management that would help inform students on safe alcohol use.
The final speakers were Captain Robert Malloy and Sgt. Larry Cousin speaking on behalf of the BUPD. Their presentation concentrated on the enforcement of the alcohol policies, mainly their joint work with Boston Police to crack down on the “gap area”. This area, which spans Brighton Avenue to Pratt Street, sees hundreds of students roaming the streets for parties. Cops patrol the area on the weekends to deter students from making bad decisions. The meeting concluded with final remarks from the representatives as students in the room reflected on all the information that was presented to them.
After a quick Q&A session ensued, I spoke with the E-Board of SSDP. The President of SSDP, KC Mackey (CAS) , thoughtfully addressed the purpose of the grassroots organization. She explained that the BU chapter serves to raise awareness of the harms of the war on drugs, and the use of drugs, which they neither condemn nor condone. They work in conjunction with Student Union to openly discuss campus policies with BU administration. SSDP believes that prohibition does more harm than good and that enforcing stricter policies may not be the best solution.
The Treasurer of SSDP, Yi Wu, stated that the overarching goal was to attempt to establish sensible policies based on a humane and public health oriented approach. James Boggie, an active member of the Student Union, concluded that the establishment of student leadership would shift the alcohol and drug discussion dynamic. He asserted that trying to create a network between university officials and student groups is the key to initiating open discussion with the university on topics such as medical amnesty, a controversial subject that has stirred many a heated debate in the past.
The determined activists that make up SSDP represent those who are skeptical to enter discussions about sensible drug policies yet formulate opinions that they may not wish to share for whatever reason. The Alcohol Policy Town Hall serves as a bridge between administrators and students who wish to talk about the rationality of policies through diplomatic discourse. Even through the debates, both BU and SSDP are in agreement with the most important objective of Alcohol Awareness Week. The goal is not to intimidate students with statistics and anectodes about alcohol, but to educate students on making informed decisions when regarding the use of alcohol.
For fun stuff to do in Boston without alcohol and other drugs, check out http://www.hammered.org.