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Alcohol Awareness at Salem State

By: Harold Rivera


Salem State University is creating awareness to help students make better choices about alcohol
consumption. April is Alcohol Awareness Month as The National Council on Alcohol Awareness and Drug
Dependence is sponsoring a campaign to emphasize treatment and prevention.
The NCADDs campaign targets small, local organizations as well as colleges and universities, where
alcohol consumption is a nationwide issue.
Salem State University Police Captain Richard Riggs said the campaign targets two areas that are crucial
to the awareness of alcohol consumption among college students. Riggs said he believes education is a
major component of the process.
"Scare tactics alone dont work," Riggs said. "You really have to make it personal and impact people in
that manner. Back in the 90s the big program was DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), and its still
around but not anywhere near as big as it was back in the 90s. Education is a part of it but its got to be
meaningful education."
One of the trends that Riggs has noticed is the rise of binge drinking, the consumption of alcoholic
beverages over a short period of time with the intention of becoming intoxicated. According to Choose
Responsibility, a nonprofit organization that encourages young adults to make better decisions about
alcohol, more than 90% of all alcohol consumed by underage drinkers is consumed during binge
drinking.
Based on the information Ive seen, theres a lot more binge drinking, Riggs noted. Its the rapid
introduction of alcohol into the system. Its always been around but its on the increase. That seems to
be the biggest problem, so much alcohol in a short period of time.
Riggs noted that Salem State has made 58 calls for medics involving alcohol-related cases since
September 2014. According to the universitys 2013 Clery Report, which requires all schools that receive
federal aid to disclose information about crimes on-campus, 234 discipline referrals were given for
liquor violations that year.
Its definitely a significant problem on our campus," Riggs said. "Weve seen this on-campus and were
not exempt. It remains to be a big cause of where a lot of our problems stem from. That includes fights,
assault and battery, operating under the influence and even theft. Peoples judgement gets skewed.
Opportunists will look for it."
Lu Ferrell, Resident Director at Salem States Atlantic Hall dormitory, added that Residence Lifes goal is
to help students make smart decisions about alcohol.

We try to have as many proactive programmatic initiatives to inform students of the risks that may
occur should they choose to drink, Ferrell said. We try to approach it from the framework of having
students make informed decisions.
From the perspective of a parent, Riggs said he believes having meaningful conversations about the risks
of drinking can go a long way.
The parents are going to get limited information from the school so they cant find out what their kids
are doing at every moment, Riggs said. What the parents have instilled in them through the years is
going to be critical. As long as theyve had proper dialogue with their kids through the years, I think that
goes a long way in them using proper judgement.
Riggs also spoke on the advice he offers for students who play the role of a concerned peer. He said the
best thing to do is seek help, as Campus Police always keeps the well-being of students as their top
priority.
I think the best thing to do is always call someone who can help, Riggs said. Our first priority in these
cases is the health and welfare of the students. The polices goal is for a medical first responder to
provide care and have that person transported to the hospital for treatment.
Ferrell added that Residence Life staff members are also available to help. As a resident director, Ferrell
meets with students who break alcohol policies in dorms, and said the hope is that students to learn
from their mistakes.
I hold conduct meetings with students who have violated policies on campus, Ferrell said. Ill engage
students in conversations around what occurred, why it occurred, what the decision making process
looked like, and what can be learned from the incident.
More information on Salem State Universitys alcohol policies can be found on the schools website,
which provides a list of alcohol and drug resources here: https://www.salemstate.edu/chs/alcoholdrugs.php.

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