The link to the Davis Enterprise story from today is at:
http://davisenterprise.com/articles/2005/09/28/news/094new0.txt.
Michelle
---------------------University of California, Davis
September 27, 2005
UC DAVIS AND CITY OF DAVIS LAUNCH SAFE PARTY INITIATIVE
A broad-based coalition of UC Davis student leaders, administrators,
law enforcement and health professionals, joined by City of Davis
residents, elected officials and law enforcement today launched a
multi-pronged "Safe Party Initiative" to target high-risk drinking
throughout the greater Davis community.
The initiative, announced at a morning news conference at the campus
Activities and Recreation Center, will include:
* Increased weekend alcohol safety enforcement patrols throughout the
fall by both UC Davis and Davis police officers;
* A series of neighborhood parties and barbecues to improve
homeowner-student relations and set a community standard for safe,
fun parties in targeted neighborhoods (the first, for the Oeste Manor
Neighborhood Association, is scheduled for Oct. 1);
* Student and community outreach efforts centered on a new Web site,
<http://safeparty.ucdavis.edu>, to educate partiers and their hosts
about safe parties and ways to reduce alcohol-related risks.
"As representatives of UC Davis and the Davis community, we all have
a responsibility for the safety of our guests and neighborhood
residents whenever we host or attend a party," said Dr. Michelle
Famula, director of the Cowell Student Health Center at UC Davis. "We
have a right and an obligation to set a community standard of safe
party expectations and responsible alcohol use that respects the
health and safety of all in our community."
Also speaking at today's news conference were Judy Sakaki, UC Davis'
vice chancellor for student affairs; Davis City Councilman Don
Saylor; Davis Police Chief Jim Hyde; and Caliph Assagai, president of
Associated Students of the University of California, Davis (ASUCD).
Joining them were numerous other coalition members representing the
campus, the city, Davis neighborhoods, Davis Campus Community Alcohol
Coalition and the City/UCD Student Liaison Commission.
"UC Davis has a commitment to the safety and well-being of our
students and the campus community," Sakaki said. "We will work in
partnership with others to minimize the potential detrimental effects
of high-risk parties."
The new Safe Party Initiative is supported by a five-year, $6.9
million grant to the Prevention Research Center (PRC) in Berkeley
from the National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA)
aimed at reducing high-risk drinking on college campuses. As part of
the research effort, the PRC has asked UC Davis and five other
schools to develop and implement effective strategies to reduce
high-risk drinking and the consequences of that drinking, including
violence, injuries, property damage and car crashes.
Representatives of the UC Davis and City of Davis communities have
been meeting for months to devise and implement the most effective
strategy specifically tailored to the needs and concerns of the
greater Davis community. They relied to a great extent on UC Davis
campus data that has demonstrated that off-campus parties are the
most significant high-risk drinking environment for students.
Indeed, a survey released earlier this year of 1,010 UC Davis
undergraduates reported that roughly one-third of all their
alcohol-related problems occurred or were instigated at off-campus
parties held at private homes and apartments. In the study,
alcohol-related problems included alcohol poisoning, unsafe sex,
sexual assaults, other aggressive behavior and driving drunk or
riding with a drunk driver. According to the survey results, the
alcohol problem looms even larger when community bars, off-campus
fraternities and outdoor settings are included.
"We are not against parties; we are against problems," said Saylor,
the Davis city councilman. "Students are a welcome part of our
community and we all need to be respectful of the lifestyles of each
other. We all live together here in one community. There are
adjustments necessary on the part of students to be respectful of the
neighborhoods they live in, and our neighborhoods also need to make
adjustments to welcome students into the fold."
At the same time, Assagai, president of ASUCD, stressed, "Most UC
Davis students are not high-risk drinkers. And as students who live
in Davis, we enjoy its security and we support the Safe Party
Initiative to help keep this community safe."
To help keep the Davis community safe, new 20-member joint UC Davis
and Davis police weekend alcohol safety enforcement patrols will
commence this Thursday, Sept. 29, and continue on Friday, Sept. 30,
Oct. 6-7, Oct. 13-14 and then four additional nights in November to
be determined later.
Hyde, the Davis police chief, said law enforcement is focusing its
efforts now because local crime statistics indicate that the
incidence of driving under the influence, alcohol poisoning and
sexual assaults peaks in the first few weeks of the fall quarter.
"Students who find themselves having a party that gets out of control
can take control by calling the police before someone else does,"
Hyde said. "Breaking up your own party can save you a lot of money
and problems later on. It's the best way to protect yourself, your
neighbors and your guests."
The new Web site, <http://safeparty.ucdavis.edu>, expected to be
launched today, will offer students a central resource for planning
and attending "safe parties," including a list of responsibilities
for party hosts; "mocktail" recipes for non-alcoholic drinks; tips on
responsible drinking and personal safety; lists of UC Davis policies,
Davis city ordinances and state and federal laws related to drugs and
alcohol; a calendar of UC Davis events; and a quick reference list of
telephone numbers and other medical emergency contact information for
hospitals, law enforcement and safe transportation.
UC Davis is one of eight UC campuses and six California State
University campuses (including Sacramento State) collaborating with
the Prevention Research Center on the "Safer California Universities"
study. UC Davis is receiving $150,000 over five years to assist in
the administration of the annual student survey and other data
collection activities, and an additional $45,000 to implement
intervention strategies.
Media contact(s):
* Mitchel Benson, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9844,
mdbenson@ucdavis.edu
View this story on the Web at
<http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7481>