• Student Affairs
• BRANDEIS HOME

Report and Recommendations

Sept. 27, 2011

In response to then-President Jehuda Reinharz’s charge to review current Brandeis University policy with respect to student use of alcohol and drugs, the ad hoc Committee on Alcohol and Drug Policy deliberated over the last six weeks of the fall 2010 semester. This report summarizes the Committee’s discussions and includes recommendations designed to enhance the health and safety of our community. The Committee was formed in the wake of a set of incidents involving alcohol and undergraduate students that required both medical and law enforcement interventions. The Committee has not specifically investigated these issues; instead, our deliberations focused on understanding the nature of alcohol and drug use by students and how it comports with University policy and follows expert recommendations about alcohol and drug use among college students. The Committee’s review of alcohol and drug policies has been framed in terms of Brandeis’ mission as an institution of higher education that values excellence and fosters a commitment to social justice and social action.

The ad hoc Committee was composed of 13 members of the Brandeis community, including faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a physician-parent. In addition to the expertise of committee members, we benefited from the assistance of a team of health policy and alcohol researchers from the Heller School’s Institute for Behavioral Health. Included on the Heller team, coordinated by a Ph.D. staff member, were several National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and behavioral health doctoral trainees, as well as a public policy master’s degree student. The Committee was also assisted by senior administrative staff and by the Office of General Counsel. The Committee held a half-dozen formal meetings and, as well, sub-groups met before and after full committee discussions. Interviews were also conducted with senior managers in Student and Academic Affairs. In addition, we collected data from students by holding focus groups with undergraduates, offering an open Town Hall forum, and creating a website for the community to both learn about the Committee's work and provide feedback. Finally, we reviewed extant literature on college alcohol and drug use and met with the Director of the NIAAA’s Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research.

Early in the Committee’s discussions, we reviewed available information about alcohol and drug use among the student body and were briefed by campus health and safety professionals about current programs for prevention and treatment. Later in the process, we solicited and discussed student feedback on campus culture and the undergraduate experience. Unfortunately, there are limited current data about substance use on campus; much of the extant information is in the form of medical, psychological, and public safety encounters. Although Brandeis undertakes a variety of efforts to prevent and treat substance use/abuse problems, it is also clear that there are a panoply of issues and problems, ranging from underage drinking and alcohol misuse, to the use and misuse of illicit and prescribed drugs. The problems are not uniquely Brandeis’ and, even during the short period of the Committee’s deliberations, there were a host of media reports of alcohol and drug problems at other colleges. As well, a number of scholarly articles appeared about the nature and seriousness of alcohol and drug use among college students. Illustrative of the national attention these problems are receiving was the controversy over a new caffeinated alcohol beverage. Over the six weeks of our deliberations, the risks associated with this drink were identified and both state and federal governments took actions to ban it.

Although the problems associated with alcohol and drug use are widespread at college campuses, and it is not possible to determine the precise extent of the problem at Brandeis, it is clear that our campus experiences highly dangerous situations each year. These situations not only affect individual students, but the well being of the entire community. The consequences of substance misuse range from critical and urgent hospitalizations to exacerbation of mental health problems, interference with academic studies, and sexual misconduct. These problems have the potential to create a disrespectful and unsafe campus community.

The Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook indicates that “Brandeis University upholds and supports local, state, and federal laws with regard to alcohol beverages. Students of legal drinking age may choose to drink within stated campus guidelines, and in accordance with procedures for event sponsorship (section 5.2).” The University’s obligation to follow the law is a primary responsibility, and this responsibility is enacted within the context of an educational institution dedicated to enhancing the well being of its students.

The Committee did not assess the extent of the alcohol and drug use at Brandeis, nor even the effectiveness of the multiple programs that exist to deal with substance misuse. We took the position that the health and safety of each student is important. Thus, whether the alcohol and drug situation is better or worse than other campuses or whether there has been deterioration or an improvement at Brandeis with respect to alcohol and drug use, was not investigated; rather, we considered ways to enhance current policy to protect each student and community member. In addition, we came to see prevention, particularly as can be accomplished by attention to Brandeis’ culture and environment, as a central element of our policy analysis. As part of this prevention focus, our goal is “harm reduction”; that is, what can be done to reduce the number and severity of problems associated with alcohol and drug use.

The report is organized in terms of four dimensions of alcohol policy that follow from a model developed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention and NIAAA. The dimensions include (a) Health and Safety, (b) Treatment, (c) Prevention and Awareness, and (d) Environment/ Culture. For each section, there is a brief description of the current situation and policy emphases as we understand it. We then offer several recommendations for policy changes under each dimension. Our work is focused on improving current efforts to prevent unhealthy/unsafe practices while fostering an environment that protects the health and safety of all on campus. Given the short time frame given to the Committee to consider such problems, many of our recommendations point to areas that need to be considered and the implications, both budgetary and practical, for other relevant administrative groups.

As a Committee, much of our task was to educate ourselves about the problems and current efforts to address substance use on campus. We have considered options and recommendations in terms of their synchrony with the educational mission of the University. Our recommendations are based on input from many constituencies, including students and national experts. As will be clear when one reviews the recommendations, the Committee does not believe that a punitive approach is the most effective way to address these issues. Nor do we believe that current efforts are inappropriate or misdirected. As members or supporters of a distinguished educational and research institution, our hope is that we can use our understanding of the problem, as well as our skill as educators and our commitment as a community to create an environment in which drugs and alcohol are used legally, more wisely, and with less harmful results.

We thank former President Reinharz for requesting this review and appreciate the input and assistance provided by many members of the community, including President Frederick M. Lawrence. The Committee is particularly grateful to the staff and students of the Institute for Behavioral Health who provided expert assistance.

HEALTH PROTECTION AND SAFETY

The Committee is satisfied that given legal and regulatory constraints, as well as available resources both on campus and in the Waltham community, we have an effective system to deal with urgent health and safety issues on campus. Medical personnel, both those connected with Brandeis and those at Newton Wellesley Hospital, confirm that our transfers for patient care are appropriate and necessary. BEMCo is licensed as an ambulance service operating under the auspices of the Office of Emergency Medical Service. Its availability allows many cases to be handled without an ambulance transport to an emergency room and provides a critical safety net for the campus. Public Safety, as well, appears to play a positive role and, to the extent allowed by law, works to resolve problems without legal entanglements or the involvement of Waltham City Police. Several recommendations to enhance safety and health are suggested:

1. Efforts should be undertaken to enhance education of the campus community about the role/use of BEMCo and the University Police. The function of Campus Police and emergency response system to protect students, already widely understood, should be repeatedly emphasized. It should also be made clear that follow-up by the University is intended to be educational and preventative, rather than judicial.
2. Part of the goal is to ensure that BEMCo/Police are involved when needed and students are not “afraid” to call during emergency situations for fear of judicial repercussions. This would entail further efforts to publicize procedures associated with processing BEMCo/Police calls.
3. Additional efforts should be undertaken to clarify how BEMCo and the University maintain confidential information and the conditions under which information is shared with both Brandeis (University Health Center (UHC), University Deans, Brandeis Police, Counseling Center) and non-Brandeis health, police agencies, and with parents. This would include additional efforts to educate the campus community regarding confidentiality mandates and reporting requirements for BEMCo and University Police, as well as further efforts to educate the community regarding the response of the Dean’s Office in triaging alcohol and drug transports.
4. We recommend further efforts to clarify and publicize alcohol and drug policies described in Rights and Responsibilities.
5. The confidentiality of information that is given as a result of a BEMCo call should be further emphasized, in particular, to alleviate students’ concerns that information is released to parents or academic advisors.
6. The conditions that require the police to place individuals into protective custody should be further clarified. The efforts of University Police to handle these cases medically, while protecting the safety of all involved, should be emphasized.

TREATMENT

The committee is satisfied that Brandeis offers excellent treatment services for students who are identified as being at-risk for alcohol and drug problems. Both the Psychological Counseling Center (PCC) and the Health Center provide treatment for students with alcohol and drug as well as mental health issues. Members of the Dean’s Office, the Department of Community Living, Student Rights and Community Standards, Public Safety, the Health Center, and the PCC meet regularly to review campus incidents and identify students at risk. The collaboration among these departments provides another safety net for the campus.

The Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) specialist in the Health Center is licensed both as an alcohol and drug counselor and as a mental health counselor. She provides direct clinical care for students at risk including assessment, diagnosis, treatment, psycho-educational interventions and follow-up with students. Brief counseling is delivered utilizing models such as motivational enhancement therapy (MET) and Alcohol Skills Training Program (ASTP). Longer term counseling is available for students with substance dependence and/or dual diagnoses. She works closely with the PCC staff providing consultations and assisting in management of student referrals for off-campus substance abuse treatment/detox.

In an effort to enhance existing treatment and referral services, the Committee recommends consideration of the following:

1. The Dean of Student’s Office, Department of Community Living, and Student Rights and Community Standards staff already conduct initial screening and brief psycho-educational interventions for students identified as having alcohol and drug issues. Providing additional alcohol and drug education for these “gatekeepers” by utilizing a model such as motivational interviewing or BASICS (Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students) would create additional consistency and potentially improve the screening/interventions.
   
   
2. Based on an assessment of current research, and perhaps the conduct of an experiment at Brandeis, Health Center medical personnel should consider adding a standard assessment tool for screening individuals for drug and alcohol use during routine annual physical exams and other appropriate encounters. Several such screening tools exist.
   
   
3. Additional efforts should be undertaken to educate the campus community about the services offered by the PCC (e.g., 12 free sessions per year and daily drop-in hours) and remind students to use the PCC during high stress times (e.g., final examinations).
   
   
4. The PCC’s policies regarding confidentiality and payment should be publicized. Students should not fear accessing services at the counseling center out of concern about payment or involvement of their parents.
   
   
5. Graduate students are an increasingly large component of the campus community and have needs for alcohol and drug services that may differ from undergraduate students. Consideration needs to be given to how to serve this population effectively.

PREVENTION AND AWARENESS

The committee recognizes that Brandeis offers a number of high quality prevention and education programs offered by the Alcohol and Drug Specialist and peer educators throughout the school year. Target populations range from incoming first-year students, to high risk users and upperclassmen. Educational programs utilize a psycho-educational approach and harm reduction model emphasizing healthy decision-making, safety and community supports. That said, more can be done and it will likely require that additional resources be devoted to these educational endeavors. At present, the Health Center’s alcohol and drug counselor is responsible for screening and treatment, as well as prevention.

In an effort to enhance existing prevention/awareness services, the Committee recommends that the emphasis be on proactive alcohol and drug use prevention, rather than a reactive one. These efforts should be done in consultation with faculty and staff experts at the Heller School and elsewhere in the University. Consideration should be given to the following:

1. Additional resources for prevention and education on campus. Currently, a single counselor is responsible for providing primary treatment services and prevention education for a campus of nearly 5,000 students. Investing, particularly in prevention services is cost-effective, and should be a top priority. One possibility is to add a graduate student staffer and/or combine a position with a graduate student internship.
   
   
2. Application of a social norms approach, which has been validated as an effective intervention for reducing alcohol and drug use on college campuses.
   
   
3. An annual survey should be administered at Brandeis to collect data that can be used to develop social norms programs. The protocols for doing such surveys are well developed and the Institute for Behavioral Health has special expertise in conducting such surveys. They should be asked to assist/undertake such tracking on behalf of the University.
   
   
4. An online alcohol education course such as Alcohol-Wise or Alcohol Edu for all incoming students, including transfer students and graduate students. Until it’s possible to provide the training to each class, the course should also be made available to student leaders, upperclassmen, student athletes. It should be made mandatory for students who have violated campus alcohol policy.
   
   
5. An ongoing tracking and monitoring system to collect and aggregate data from across the University (e.g., BEMCo reports, public safety reports, indicator data from across other university departments). Data would need to be collected and reported in line with legal and other restrictions on sharing medical data and protecting individual privacy. This information would be used to monitor and track trends over time and facilitate proactive prevention and response planning. The Institute for Behavioral Health should be consulted in developing this system.
   
   
6. Peer education, demonstrated to be highly effective at preventing harmful alcohol and drug use. Provide more resources to support and sustain the alcohol/drug peer education group, PERC, with the intention of involving more upperclass students as peer educators and role models. Participation could be offered as an internship or for academic credit, and students should receive training sessions and attend a conference. These students could provide alcohol/drug educational “refresher sessions” and/or “booster sessions” through the students’ tenure.
   
   
7. Continued alcohol/drug education utilizing a harm reduction model and wellness approach through active and passive programming. Emphasize the risks of partying off campus, pre-gaming, and community standards. Programming should be geared towards high-risk times such as the beginning of the academic year, events like Pachanga, Halloween, Senior Week, Orientation Week and final examinations.
   
   
8. Along with alcohol education, an increased focus on misuse of licit drugs (i.e., prescribed medications) and use of illicit substances. There is increased awareness among substance abuse experts about the mixing of alcohol with other substances and prevention efforts need to address these issues.
   
   
9. Support of specific awareness campaigns when potential new threats to safety emerge (such as the caffeine-enhanced Four Loco that appeared this fall).
   
   
10. A specially tailored set of prevention programs for graduate students. Alcohol and drug issues should be made part of orientation programs for graduate students, followed by workshops during students’ tenure.

ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITY

Enhancing direct services is important, but the Committee strongly recommends that more attention be paid to the environment that promotes positive Brandeis values and reduces harmful alcohol and drug use. Potentially, positive changes to the environment for student life at Brandeis can do more than any other effort to protect students. The Committee heard much about the need for additional social, cultural, and educational options available to undergraduate students on weekends. To this end, the Committee recommends revamping current advisory structures or creating a new standing committee to assess student perceptions and behaviors around alcohol and drug use/misuse and to recommend programs and policy changes. A variety of environmental changes that should be considered:

1. Provide additional support to Student Activities professional staff to enable expansion of social programming for undergraduate students. Establish a Student Advisory Board for the department to facilitate student feedback.
   
   
2. Offer a broader range of weekend events, including more on-campus social options (including dances, concerts, and films), as well as educational and cultural events. In addition, a richer set of off-campus events available to undergraduate should be developed, including discounted trips, museum and theater visits.
   
   
3. Renew the marketing effort of Student Affairs core values (citizenship, integrity, respect, civility, lifelong learning, embracing diversity) and tie in with messaging around alcohol consumption.
   
   
4. Extend the weekend availability of the Gosman Athletic Center and the library, as well as the weekday hours and overall services at the Stein and other locations. The goal would be to provide additional options for social gathering.
   
   
5. Consider the relationship of currently unrecognized fraternities and sororities to the student body.
   
   
6. Work with Athletics to encourage greater student presence at sporting events and emphasize the role that support of sports teams plays in developing community and school spirit.
   
   
7. Consider expanding/revising the First Year Experience Class (FYE) to create a semester-long extension of orientation to Brandeis and to college life.
   
   
8. Strengthen programs that allow students to choose housing based on lifestyle considerations. In particular, Community Living should consider how to support/expand the Common Cause Communities for upper-class students (Substance Awareness for Everyday and Balanced Living House) to first and second-year students.
   
   
9. Explore the possibility of serving alcohol at large campus events in a way that models expectations for responsible use.
   
   
10. Expand transportation to off-campus events to protect the safety of students returning to campus.
    
    
11. Review requirements to register parties to ease barriers to informing Community Living and campus security.
    
    
12. Provide additional standardized guidance to Community Advisors regarding the proper response to incidents involving alcohol and drugs.
    
    
13. Consider the specific social needs of graduate students, virtually all of whom are 21 or older. Expanded opportunities for them to gather socially on and off campus should, in particular, be considered.

Acknowledgments

The Committee could not have accomplished its work without the assistance and support of a number of key administrators at the University. In particular, we thank Andrew Gully, senior vice president, Communications and External Affairs, who provided invaluable advice and logistic support. Arlene Carey, in the Office of Communications, made meeting arrangements, and Audrey Griffin-Goode, also in the Office of Communications, created our website. The Committee is also appreciative for the assistance of Steven Locke, associate general counsel, who provided advice on legal issues. We are also appreciative to Daniel Acheampong '11, Student Union President, for his help in reaching out to student members of the community.