High-Risk Drinking Down as Result of Broad Initiative
April 14, 2009
Fewer UC Davis
students are
engaging in
high-risk
drinking and
the community
is raising
expectations
for responsible
behavior
related to
alcohol and
parties,
according to a
report on a
major local
effort.
The Safe Party
Initiative at UC
Davis began as
part of a $6.9
million
research
project at 14
UC and
California State
Davis Neighbors Night Out, an annual community event, helps students and neighbors
University
build respectful relationships as part of the Safe Party Initiative at UC Davis. (Karin
campuses to
Higgins/UC Davis photo)
help combat high-risk drinking among college students in California.
Over the last four years, the UC Davis initiative showed students how to
reduce alcohol-related risks at parties, fostered better relationships among
students and their neighbors, and increased the visibility of law enforcement
related to alcohol use.
"As a community, we have worked together and made a real difference in this
problem," said Michelle Famula, director of Student Health Services and a
principal project investigator for the Davis campus.
About 1,000 UC Davis undergraduates were surveyed in 2003 and about 450
in 2007, and findings showed:

binge drinking (five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women
in a row) decreased from 31 percent in 2003 to 20 percent in 2007;



students who reported consuming alcohol in the past 30 days fell from 62
percent in 2003 to 55 percent in 2007;
drinking by underage students also declined from 55 percent to 47 percent; and
the percentage of students drinking enough to be drunk/intoxicated in the fall
quarter fell from 54 in 2003 to 44 in 2007.
"The effort sparked changes in student and community culture and in the
relationships between the city of Davis, the campus and the community," the
report said.
Problem parties
In the spring of 2004, a series of rowdy off-campus parties heightened campus
and community concerns and coincided with increasing recognition of the
"culture of drinking" that had inundated campuses across the country, the
report said.
About that time, UC Davis was randomly selected to be an intervention site for
the Safer California Universities study, a collaboration of the Prevention
Research Center in Berkeley and the 14 campuses with funding from the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
UC Davis received $150,000 over five years to assist in the administration of
the project on campus and an additional $45,000 to implement intervention
strategies.
Guided by Student Health Services and its Health Education and Promotion
program, the local initiative focused on off-campus parties. In a baseline
survey in 2003, UC Davis students reported that roughly one-third of all their
alcohol-related problems -- including aggressive behavior, drinking and
driving, and sex-related problems -- occurred at off-campus parties held at
private homes and apartments.
Strategic activities
Presentations and other outreach, including the Web site
http://safeparty.ucdavis.edu, promoted safer partying for those students who
chose to drink. Targeted messages were shared with incoming students,
student-athletes, fraternity and sorority members, and student residents
moving out into the community. An online program called e-Chug allows
students to assess their alcohol use and compare their drinking habits with
other UC Davis students.
The initiative targeted its activities to specific areas of the city based on prior
police calls regarding noise and parties. It also intensified efforts at specific
times of the year including the beginning of the school year and Picnic Day.
For example, a recent event leading up to this year's Picnic Day on Saturday,
April 18, featured activities to raise awareness about standard drink sizes and
the effects of different types of alcohol. Also available were recipe cards for
non-alcoholic beverages.
Over the life of the initiative, volunteers have gone to neighborhoods and
apartment complexes to distribute thousands of packages with information to
help students hold safer parties, understand state and local laws related to
alcohol, and demonstrate consideration for neighbors.
Other giveaways -- from wallet cards to beverage cups -- highlighted signs of
alcohol poisoning and how to help a friend; informed students about local
enforcement activities and the cost of alcohol-related violations; and promoted
the campus's Tipsy Taxi transportation service for students who have been
drinking.
Collaboration
Famula of Student Health Services and Davis Mayor Pro Tempore Don Saylor
said the project was a true collaboration of the campus, the community and
students.
One of the largest joint efforts was the launch of Davis Neighbors' Night Out to
help neighbors meet and build good relationships. A pilot project in 2005, the
community event grew in fall 2008 to more than 100 neighborhood activities
including barbecues, cookie exchanges and ice-cream socials. In 2008, the
California Parks and Recreation Society honored the event with an
achievement award.
Saylor, who is a founding member of the Davis Campus Community Alcohol
Coalition, helped organize the pilot. "It started out as a response to the
problem," he said. "It ended up with something far more wonderful in
community building than we ever could have imagined."
Molly Sundstrom, a senior majoring in political science and vice chair of the
City/UCD Student Liaison Commission, said the event and other efforts to
foster community have helped students be better neighbors.
"When you know that next door are a 3-year-old child and a dad who has to
get up at 6 in the morning to go to work," she said, "you're going to try to
keep it down because you actually know who they are."
Ordinances and enforcement
Through the Davis initiative, the UC Davis and city police departments also
increased outreach and enforcement efforts. Police spoke to student groups
and helped party hosts plan their events for increased safety. They also
conducted patrols of parties and checkpoints to identify drivers under the
influence of alcohol. Over three years, the initiative provided a total of $33,000
to the departments.
During the same period, the city of Davis extended an ordinance banning open
containers of alcohol and added teeth to another one aimed at cleaning up
unsightly residences.
Famula and Saylor agree that problem parties and high-risk drinking require
ongoing diligence. "It still doesn't guarantee someone won't get hurt. It still
doesn't mean an end to binge drinking," Famula said, adding that the
university welcomes new students every year. "But it's a big step in the right
direction."
About UC Davis
For 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service
that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state
capital, UC Davis has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that
exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized
research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and
more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges -- Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and
Science -- and advanced degrees from five professional schools -- Education,
Law, Management, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine.
Media contact(s):
• Michelle Famula, Student Health Services, (530) 752-6559, msfamula@ucdavis.edu
• Michelle Johnston, Health Education and Promotion, (530) 752-9651,
mjohnston@ucdavis.edu
• Julia Ann Easley, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-8248, jaeasley@ucdavis.edu
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