2. 2
Introduction
The Alcohol Taskforce consists of committed faculty, staff, and students at the
College of St. Scholastica. Who’s efforts to effectively address the impact of alcohol use
on campus and in the community has been utilized through data collection and program
implementation. The following summary includes an overview of alcohol-related data
and evidence based prevention utilized at the College of St. Scholastica. The ultimate
goal is to share this data, to evaluate campus alcohol prevention efforts, and to inform
strategic planning and decision-making.
Philosophy
The mission of the College of St. Scholastica (CSS) is to create an environment in
which both the responsible use and nonuse of alcoholic beverages are respected and the
lines existing between responsible drinking, problematic drinking and abuse are
recognized. Within the Benedictine tradition of hospitality, CSS seeks to foster a healthy
environment where all people can pursue healthy, respectful relationships, and are able to
embrace and live the value, Love of Learning. The College supports those who choose a
balanced lifestyle and offers support to those in recovery. The CLEAN program and the
WELL U Office offer support via groups on campus as well as ongoing programming
(The College of Saint Scholastica Student Handbook, 2013, pg. 20).
St. Scholastica Alcohol Policy
The College allows no public consumption of alcohol, except at approved College
events. The Dean of Students must approve events involving alcohol; those of legal age
may use alcoholic beverages in private rooms in student apartments. Somers Residence
Hall is an alcohol-free building for residents and guests regardless of age. Alcohol is not
allowed in any classroom setting. The College reserves the right to determine whether
the use of alcoholic beverages in residential apartments by those of legal age is excessive
or its use violates (by pattern or in a single incident) the Benedictine Values to the point
where appropriate sanctions may be applied (The College of St. Scholastica Student
Handbook, 2013, pg. 21).
Changes have been made to the College of St. Scholastica Student Handbook to
encourage students to maintain self-care if they or someone they know should find
themselves in a risky situation regarding alcohol use.
Medical Amnesty – encourages responsible action and to utilize assistance when
necessary, the College’s Medical Amnesty policy applies to students seeking
medical attention for themselves, students seeking medical attention for someone
else or the student is in need of medical attention whether or not they are the
caller.
Alcohol Presence –The alcohol policy was amended to allow minor students in
the presence of alcohol to receive a breathalyzer test. If they are found not having
a BAC, they are not penalized for being in the presence of alcohol. This
amendment has reduced the amount of on campus violations. It is the student’s
3. 3
responsibility to request the breathalyzer, if they do not they may be charged for
consumption if they are in the presence of alcohol and are under 21 years of age.
Drug Policy- It is unlawful to manufacture, distribute, possess or use an illegal
drug or controlled substance at the College of St. Scholastica. Students found in
violation of the drug policy will receive College issued violations at the discretion
of the Dean of Students and, in many cases, will be held accountable to local,
state and federal law. (The College of Saint Scholastica Student Handbook 2013-
2014, (2013), p. 23-24). Possible sanctions include:
o Meeting with the Dean of Students designee
o Educational experience
o Fine(s) ranging form $100-$400
o Restitution for damage to community
o Dismissal from campus housing
o Suspension or dismissal from the College
Judicial Process- Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the
CSS Student Code of Conduct and the statement of sanctions in the Student
Handbook. Possession and consumption of alcohol by those not of legal drinking
age, and consumption by those of legal drinking age that results in behavior that
endangers or is detrimental to self or others are a violation of the College alcohol
policy. Other violations involving alcohol that violate the rights or property of
members of the CSS community are considered violations of this policy.
Violations of the city and/or state law may also be referred to the proper city
and/or state authorities in conjunction with or in addition to any College sanctions
that may be imposed (The College of Saint Scholastica Student Handbook 2013-
2014, (2013), p.24-25). See the table in Appendix A that describes the categories
of offenses and the sanctions for each offense.
Outreach
AlcoholEDU
AlcoholEDU is an online prevention program designed for college students. Its
approach is designed to provide an experience that impacts individual behavior and
campus culture, therefore reducing institutional risk. Today AlcoholEDU is used on
campuses throughout the nation and produces the world’s largest database of college
students and alcohol use. It is the only program designed for all students, whether they
are heavy, light to moderate, or non-drinkers. The method creates learning experiences
that motivate behavior change, reset unrealistic expectations about the effects of alcohol,
and creates a link between choices about drinking to academic and personal success. It
also helps students practice safer decision-making, and engages students to create a
healthier campus community. (http://www.outsidetheclassroom.com/solutions/higher-
education/alcoholedu-for-college.aspx)
In the Fall of 2013, 86% of students at the College of St. Scholastica reported that
AlcoholEDU helped them establish a plan for responsible decisions regarding alcohol.
85% reported that AlcoholEDU prepared them to identify and/or help someone who had
4. 4
Concern
about Drug &
Alcohol
Prevention
89%
Active
Involvement
11%
Concern & Involvement
alcohol poisoning. 66% of students report AlcoholEDU helped them reflect on their
personal attitudes and behaviors regarding alcohol. 65% of CSS students reported their
perceptions of other’s drinking related behaviors were changed after completing
AlcoholEDU.
AlcoholEDU is required for all first year students entering the College of St.
Scholastica since Fall 2012 with a response rate of 100% students completing all of the
surveys. Students must complete the first survey in order to register for college classes
and complete the surveys before the end of the semester. AlcoholEDU also gives parents
the opportunity to participate in the program and learn various ways to engage their
student in a conversation regarding alcohol as well as the perceptions surrounding alcohol
that the student may have.
Resident Life
Residential Life consists of resident directors (professional staff) and advisors
(students) who work together to ensure the safety of students living on campus. Resident
advisors are students trained to respond to situations of alcohol abuse. With the
implementation of new policies on campus regarding alcohol use, resident advisors have
more confidence to respond to situations where alcohol is problematic. Resident
directors and advisors are equipped to handle situations of alcohol abuse and help
students seek the treatment they need to have a positive college experience.
Storm’s Advocates
Research indicates that 89% of CSS students are concerned about drug and
alcohol prevention, but only 11% are actively involved in helping implement policies
regarding alcohol prevention. Storm’s Advocates are peer educators committed to
supporting their fellow students in making life choices that positively impact health and
well-being. Storms Advocates sponsor educational programs promoting health and
wellness. They host a variety of campus wide events and activities promoting awareness
among the student body. In the 2013-2014 academic year Storm’s Advocates and Well U
planned over 50 events with a cumulative number of over 5700 students participating in
the events. (http://www.css.edu/Administration/Health-and-Well-Being/Storms-Advocates.html )
Enforcement
Law Enforcement
Survey reports indicate that 60% of CSS students are drinking off campus
compared to the national average of students drinking off campus, which is 41%. With
more students choosing to engage in drinking behaviors off campus, Law Enforcement
5. 5
may become involved and may need to work with the Residential Life Office at CSS to
coordinate the best policies to ensure student safety.
Residential Data
Residential data provides a comparison by year of the number of violations,
incidences and sanctions students received and if there has been any decrease or increase
in the number of violations students received.
Residential data indicates variances of alcohol violations by month. The highest
occurrences of violations take place in September, October, December and February for
the 2012-2013 academic year.
Furthermore, residential data indicates a significant difference between students
who received sanctions during the 2013-2014 academic year after new policies were
implemented, compared to the 2012-2013 academic year.
Month 2012-13 Alcohol Drugs
August 8 0
September 68 0
October 40 2
November 14 2
December 49 9
January 11 8
February 41 2
March 5 0
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2013-2014 Revised Alcohol
Policy/Sanctions
Number of Students
Sanctioned
2012-2013 Alcohol
Policy/Sanctions
Number of Students
Sanctioned
Hosting, Public Intoxication 1st
Offense- Edu I 5
Hosting, Public Intoxication 1st
Offense- Edu II 5
Hosting, Public Intoxication 1st
Offense- Fine 6
Guest Violation Fine 1
Guest Violation Work
Hours 3
Probation 25
Probation 3
Referral 3
Restitution 4
RESTORE Team Referral 11
Underage Consumption First
Offense Edu Part I 82
Alcohol- First Offense
(Fine) 87
Underage Consumption First
Offense Edu Part II 82
Alcohol- First Offense
(Work Hours) 88
Underage Consumption First
Offense Fine 11
Alcohol- Second Offense
(Work Hours) 3
Underage Consumption Second
Offense (Fine) 2 Consumption (Alcohol) I 15
Consumption (Alcohol)
Work Hours 12
Underage Consumption 2nd
Offense 3
Warning 36 Warning 38
Winter Break Violation Fine 1
Total Number of Students
2013-14 251
Total Number of Students
2012-13 275
Resources
Counseling Center
Counseling services are available to students at no cost (with respect to
psychiatric evaluations and management of medication, which are billed to individual’s
insurance). Services include: personal, social or family counseling, academic counseling,
crisis interventions, and consultation services with staff and faculty.
(http://www.css.edu/Administration/Health-and-Well-Being/Counseling-Services.html)
CLEAN Program
The CLEAN Program at the College of St. Scholastica is a community based,
peer driven recovery support program. Elements of the program are specific to St.
Scholastica students’; other programs outside of St. Scholastica are available to anyone
not enrolled on campus. The CLEAN Recovery program consists of three main tenets:
Connect, Equip and Reside. CLEAN Connect is an informal community facilitated by
Recovery Services through text messages and other social media, as a way to pass along
7. 7
various announcements and inform individuals of different events. CLEAN Equip is a
leadership program for St. Scholastica students. Students’ work with a recovery coach to
learn skills and develop confidence to enhance their college experience, centered on a
recovery lifestyle grounded in service. CLEAN Reside is a sober housing program that
allows students at St. Scholastica to engage in living out the principles of recovery in a
housing environment. (http://www.css.edu/Administration/Health-and-Well-Being/CLEAN-Recovery-
Services.html)
RESTORE Program
The RESTORE (Response Empowering Students To Overcome Restricted
Experience) Program is in its first year. Following policy changes regarding alcohol use
on campus, RESTORE was implemented to be a model of restorative justice for students
who have had a serious alcohol or drug violation incident on campus. The goal of
RESTORE is to bridge the gap between students and staff and more purposely inform
students that staff are there to make their college experience positive. RESTORE is
student focused and uses Motivational Interviewing, which allows students to map out
their academic goals and discuss how alcohol or drugs may create barriers to achieve
those goals.
Brief Motivational Interviewing
Brief Motivational Interviewing is best described as a counseling style.
Counselors use empathic listening to understand the client’s perspective and minimize
resistance. From this collaboration, strategies and techniques can be used to explore the
values, goals and relation to addictive problems of the client and thus elicit motivation for
change (Heather, N. & Stockwell, T., 2004).
Notable Progress
Notable progress has been made at CSS with the implementation of the 56 Nights
Program that has correlated with the reduction of violations. Changes to the student
handbook have created a culture of change among the Resident Directors and Resident
Advisors in relation to students.
56 Nights
56 Nights offers students substance free entertainment on Friday and Saturday
nights between the hours of 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. during the school year. Various activities
include: live music, swing and salsa dancing, laser tag and bingo. Each student club is
involved with 56 Nights and hosts an event. The Student Senate provides funds to clubs
to host events. The evaluation of 56 Nights is conducted through tracking attendance,
tracking the number of alcohol violations that occur on nights when programs are
occurring and a survey. The graph below indicates events that students at CSS are
interested in attending, additionally, 69 students indicated interest in planning alcohol-
free events and activities:
8. 8
T3C
The Tri Campus and Community Coalition on Student Drinking (T3C) is the
collaboration between the campuses of the College of St. Scholastica, the University of
Minnesota Duluth, and Lake Superior Community College along with the city of Duluth
to assess college student drinking issues and investigate interventions that could reduce
high-risk college drinking behavior. T3C has three main focuses:
Education- Campuses and schools work together to promote and share
intervention techniques intended to promote student alcohol risk reduction.
Enforcement & Consequences- Law enforcement and school behavioral
expectations are used to address alcohol related infractions by student through
both negative sanctions and therapeutic mandates.
Student-community relations- neighborhood associations, businesses and civic
and non-profit agencies cooperate to seek ways to lessen the negative impacts of
student alcohol abuse while using available resources to change drinking cultures
and disruptive behavior patterns.
T3C works as a facilitator of planning and activities that will encourage moderation and
risk reduction among college student populations enrolled at UMD, LSC and CSS.
Next Steps
Various opportunities may be considered regarding the use of alcohol by students,
among these are addressing why students choose to drink, high-risk student drinking
behaviors and negative consequences of drinking.
The table below indicates the top 5 most important reasons for drinking an
alcoholic beverage according to students at the College of St. Scholastica compared to the
national average:
The graph below indicates the most common drinking-related risk behaviors that students
at CSS engage in compared to the national average:
9. 9
The graphs below indicate negative consequences of drinking that are worth noting
regarding student at CSS:
Critical Focus
There is critical focus regarding students in their sophomore and upperclassmen
year, as well as students in accelerated programs at CSS and who take classes online.
Survey results from the Boynton National Survey indicate significant alcohol use for
undergraduates, as well as graduates, accelerated students and students completing their
education online through CSS:
Category National CSS
Undergrad
CSS
Graduate
CSS
Accelerated
CSS Online
All 28.2% 38.2% 22% 22.9% 15.3%
Male 36.2% 54% 28.6% 28.6% 19%
Female 24.1% 33.1% 19.8% 20.6% 14.5%
Another area of critical focus is on the increase of alcohol use among students
from the beginning of fall semester to mid semester and determining the causes of that
increase. The tables below indicate the drinking rates of students prior to their arrival on
campus and the student rate measured midway through fall semester.
10. 10
A third area of critical focus is the collaboration between faculty, staff and
students to work together to create a healthy environment at CSS. Student involvement
gives students an opportunity to become leaders on campus and teach others the benefits
of making safe decisions regarding alcohol use and increase awareness of its damaging
effects.
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References:
1. AlcoholEDU: http://www.outsidetheclassroom.com/solutions/higher-
education/alcoholedu-for-college.aspx
2. CLEAN Recovery Program: http://www.css.edu/Administration/Health-and-Well-
Being/CLEAN-Recovery-Services.html
3. The College of St. Scholastica Student Handbook 2013-2014 (2013). The College of
St. Scholastica. Retrieved from:
http://www2.css.edu/resources/StAffairs/StudentHandbook_current.pdf
4. Counseling Services: http://www.css.edu/Administration/Health-and-Well-
Being/Counseling-Services.html
5. CSS Resource & Response Guide for Students Who Have Experienced: Sexual
Violence (no date). The Gender Equity & Ant-Violence Allies Team. The College
of St. Scholastica.
6. Heather, N. & Stockwell, T. (2004). Motivational interviewing. The Essential
Handbook of Treatment and Prevention of Alcohol Problems. Ch. 7. John Wiley
& Sons, Ltd. West Sussex, England.
7. Storm’s Advocate: http://www.css.edu/Administration/Health-and-Well-Being/Storms-
Advocates.html
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Appendix A
First Offense Second Offense Third Offense Fourth
Offense
Category A:
Underage
Consumption
Underage
Possession
Meet with designee of
Dean of Students, up to
$50 fine imposed,
additional restitution
for any damage to the
community
relationships or
violation of
stewardship,
educational experience,
such as an AlcoholEDU
course, a meeting with
the RESTORE Team or
other wellness based
sanction, determined
by designee of Dean of
Students
Meet with designee of
Dean of Students, up to
$100 fine imposed,
additional restitution
for any damage to the
community
relationships or
violation of
stewardship,
educational experience,
such as an AlcoholEDU
course, a meeting with
the RESTORE Team or
other wellness based
sanction, determined
by designee of Dean of
Students
Meet with designee of
Dean of Students, up to
$150 fine imposed,
additional restitution
for any damage to the
community
relationships or
violation of
stewardship,
educational experience,
such as an AlcoholEDU
course, a meeting with
the RESTORE Team or
other wellness based
sanction, determined
by designee of Dean of
Students
Meeting with
a designee(s)
of the Dean of
Students to
review
violation. Your
housing
contract will
likely be
cancelled,
suspension
from the
College and
other
restrictions or
sanctions will
likely be
considered.
Category B:
Hosting
Public
Intoxication
Container
Policy
Meet with designee of
Dean of Students, up to
$100 fine imposed,
additional restitution
for any damage to the
community
relationships or
violation of
stewardship,
educational experience,
such as an AlcoholEDU
course, a meeting with
the RESTORE Team or
other wellness based
sanction, determined
by designee of Dean of
Students
$200 fine imposed,
additional restitution
for any damage to the
community
relationships or
violation of
stewardship,
educational experience,
such as an AlcoholEDU
course, a meeting with
the RESTORE Team or
other wellness based
sanction, determined
by designee of Dean of
Students
$400 fine imposed,
additional restitution
for any damage to the
community
relationships or
violation of
stewardship,
educational experience,
such as an AlcoholEDU
course, a meeting with
the RESTORE Team or
other wellness based
sanction, determined
by designee of Dean of
Students
Meeting with
a designee(s)
of the Dean of
Students to
review
violation. Your
housing
contract will
likely be
cancelled,
suspension
from the
College and
other
restrictions or
sanctions will
likely be
considered.
Category C:
Dangerous
Consumption
Handled on an individual basis by Dean of Students designee: referral to the RESTORE team,
possible required alcohol assessment and parents/guardians are likely to be notified as a
health and safety concern
Appeals:
All appeals of alcohol violations will follow the process outlined in the general Code of
Conduct.
Parental Notification Policy:
The Family Educational Right to Privacy Act, (FERPA), by the U.S. Department of Higher
