The University of Oregon has increased its alcohol education and prevention efforts in the past six years and aims to improve preventative efforts to have a greater effect on students.
The UO substance abuse education and prevention policy has expanded in the past six years to provide more services to students. Alcohol-related crimes have decreased in the past seven years while drug-related crimes have increased. The Department of Prevention Services plans to incorporate more impactful techniques to address the ever-changing needs of students.
Newly appointed Director of Prevention Services Kerry Frazee plans to implement more impactful policies to keep students safe, including community-based education and targeting the misperceptions surrounding alcohol.
“Our national data for attending colleges and universities shows consistently that substance use is an issue,” Frazee said.
Incoming UO students are required to take an online alcohol orientation before attending the university to educate themselves on the risks associated with alcohol and drugs. For the past six years, the university has used the program “Alcohol Edu.”
The Department of Prevention Services switched to the online education program “Third Millennium Classrooms” this fall. This program is said to cover more broad topics beyond just the negative effects of substance use and challenge the traditional college life stereotypes of drinking and partying.
“We want our students to know about the misperceptions of college substance use that aren’t actual realities,” Frazee said.
Freshman business major Brittany Nguyen said Third Millennium Classroom helps students and shows the negative outcomes of drinking. When asked if there was anything about the program that could be improved, Nguyen said the university has “already made [the program] pretty accessible,” and that “it was very informative and probably helps a lot of freshmen.”
Frazee said she has several ideas and techniques she plans to enact in order to create a safe environment for students. For example, Frazee’s ideas for change include “more intentional community approaches to prevention in trusted settings,” such as group alcohol education sessions where students are in a group they are comfortable in.
Frazee said she aims to “make sure our students are getting something more than just an online course.”
UO’s annual fire and safety reports from 2013 and 2017 state that liquor law violations have decreased from 1030 violations in 2010 to 778 violations in 2016. On the other hand, drug law violations have increased from 101 violations in 2010 to 320 violations in 2016.
The UO substance abuse prevention and education program now includes collaboration with specific student groups such as fraternity and sorority life and the athletic departments.
The program has also expanded several other policies over the past six years. The department has begun using data, evaluations and assessments to determine the scope and future success of the program as a whole.
The university alcohol and illegal drug policy has also created a more conclusive definition of marijuana usage in the past six years. According to the 2017 Alcohol and Drug Policy, the local laws surrounding marijuana usage went from one restrictive law to five. A more explicit definition of marijuana use has been included in the years after the legalization of marijuana in the state of Oregon as well.
“There are some culture shifts that need to happen around substance abuse and misuse,” Frazee said.
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