WEST LIBERTY
ALCOHOL & DRUG
AWARENESS
PROGRAM
West Liberty supports the prevention of drug and alcohol use on college
campuses.
Alcohol and drug use can lead to long term health issues, such as liver
disease, heart disease, cancer and pancreatitis. Drug and alcohol abuse
can also lead to safety hazards, criminal activity, and lower productivity.
In an effort to educate both employees and students, WLU has a number
of initiatives in place.
The Alcohol Task Force conducts numerous social and educational
programs for students and faculty through-out the academic year.
The Health Promotion Committee also conducts programs on campus
regarding alcohol education.
The Student Handbook outlines the campus alcohol and drug policy.
This includes penalties for violating the alcohol and drug policy. The
Student Handbook can be found on the WLU web site
(www.westliberty.edu) under Student Affairs.
West Liberty University also has in place a campus wide Drug Free
Work-Place Policy. This policy can be found on the WLU web site
www.westliberty.edu/Administration/HumanResources/policy33.asp
The Alcohol Task Force has also implemented a comprehensive
program, including objectives, to address alcohol and drug issues on
campus. This program is outlined on the following pages.
WLU AOD Program
Alcohol Task Force
Problem: WLU feels that it is necessary to have a committee to discuss issues surrounding
alcohol and other drug use on campus. WLU has had an Alcohol Task Force for the past several
years. This task force is made up of key individuals from the community, the campus counselor,
campus nurse, campus police, campus ministry and the individual responsible to campus
activities. We also have students serving on the committee and welcome more student
participation. The task force also organizes events throughout the year to provide opportunities
for students to socialize without alcohol.
Strategic Objective: Continue to stress the need to keep WLU’s campus free of alcohol and
other drugs.
Tactics:
 Keep Alcohol Task Force Active
 Stress importance of such a committee
 Allow Alcohol Task Force to have an active voice in any campus decisions concerning
policy on drug and alcohol use.
 Fund ATF and other groups adequately so that they can organize successful alcohol free
events that attract students.
Alcohol-Free Social Activities
Problem: Students often complain that they drink because there is nothing else to do.
Tactics:
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Alcohol Task Force and the Campus Activities Board provide social opportunities for our
students.
Events are alcohol free and are an alternative to going off campus to drink and socialize.
Events also a social opportunity for students that are already non-drinkers.
Education on drugs and alcohol and effects:
Strategic Objectives: Provide education to students on drugs and alcohol and the effects on
health, grades, social problems, legal ramifications, sexual assault, etc…
Tactics:
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Provide pamphlets in key locations (counseling center, health services, residence halls)
Display posters regarding drug and alcohol use in residence halls and other building
around campus.
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Provide speakers in First Year Experience classes or have at least have discussions about
this topic in class.
Utilize Alcohol 101 program.
Encourage relevant classes to discuss these issues (First Year Experience, Health,
Criminal Justice, Social Work, Psychology, etc…
Participate in the alcohol awareness weeks and alcohol use survey.
Encourage RA’s to provide programs to their residents.
Alcohol and Drug Free Campus
Strategic Objective: WLU should continue to be committed to being alcohol free and allowing
no drugs or alcohol on the premises to show our concern for our students and to show the
community our determination to remain a safe and sober campus.
Tactics:
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Have strict rules regarding alcohol use in the residence halls and other campus buildings.
Have zero tolerance policy on illicit drug use
Have sanctions that are carried out in cases where the rules are broken.
Any changes to the policies on drug and alcohol should be presented to the voting group
(Board of Governors) by parties on both sides of the issue.
Supportive Services for Individuals with Substance Abuse Problems
Strategic Objective: WLU will ensure that we provide safeguards and supports to those
individuals that seek assistance for drug and alcohol problems.
Tactics:
 Continue to provide counseling services for students
 Continue to provide Health services to students
 Encourage organizations to meet on campus (AA)
 Refer students to outside facilities when necessary
Statement of AOD program goals and a discussion of
goal achievement
The Alcohol Task Force at WLU is a cohesive group of individuals around the campus and also
the local communities. The ATF has been active in providing alcohol free events for our
students. The ATF is encouraged by the attendance of these events and hope to expand on their
success.
WLU continues to educate our faculty, staff and students on the effects of Drug and Alcohol use
and abuse. We feel that we offer many opportunities for this to happen. However, it may be
beneficial to have a person serve as a full time Health Educator. In the future, it is hopeful that
funding may come available to provide such a resource to our campus.
WLU has been successful at remaining alcohol and drug free. The ATF will continue to stress
the importance of maintaining a strict policy against alcohol. The ATF is available to provide
information to individuals that wish to change this policy. This information would show facts
that alcohol and other drugs is directly correlated to other negative effects on campus such as
lower GPS, more sexual assaults and assaults in general, increased vandalism, etc…
WLU has been considered to be a close community. We try, as an institution, to maintain a
personal touch by reaching out to those that we suspect are struggling. We provide counseling
services, mentoring programs, and social opportunities. AA now has a meeting on campus and
this is now another valuable resource for our students, faculty and staff.
Procedure for distributing annual AOD notification to
students and employees
WLU informs all students of our policy on AOD in the student handbook. The information is
also in the residence hall information. Employees are aware of the policy as well and are
required to sign a drug free form at time of employment. At the time of this review, it is noted
that WLU needs to address a shortcoming in this area. Regulations state that annual notification
to all students and employees is mandatory. WLU will adopt a more thorough method of
informing all students and employees annually. This can be done through email and/or mailing.
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Recommendations for Revising AOD programs
Alcohol Task Force: The task force is quite diverse and includes campus counseling services,
health services, security services, housing, and community members. We have one student on
the committee. The task force should strongly consider recruiting more students to serve on this
committee. We would like to continue to build on the success of these events and hope to attract
more and more students to these events. One way we hope to do this is to attempt to gain
additional funding for alcohol free nights and events. We also would like to see the students take
more of an interest in these events. If students are planning these activities, they will have a
vested interest in seeing it succeed and will encourage others to come to events.
Alcohol Free Activities: The Campus Activity Board (CAB) and the ATF regularly schedule
events that are well promoted and are alcohol free. Some examples of these programs are casino
night, Safe Spring Break Beach Party, movie nights, bingo night, Fall Festival and many others.
A calendar of activities is very prominently displayed outside of the cafeteria where the majority
of students will see it. It is also emailed to the students and employees.
Some of these events are better attended than other ones. The planning committees for these
events would like more attendance at some events but it is important to remember that the
programs keep some students from going out to binge drink. The programs also provide social
activities for the non-drinking students and therefore encouraging them to continue this path and
not turning to binge drinking as a way to socialize.
Education of students on AOD: WLU provides opportunities for learning about drug and
alcohol use through the tactics mentioned earlier. This can be improved if Health classes were
required to cover drug and alcohol use in there curricula. Most student take a health class during
there college career at WLU so this is an opportunity to touch upon the subject. RA’s should be
encouraged to provide programs on AOD. If they feel uncomfortable doing this, an outside
agency or the college counselor could assist. First Year Experience Classes should require AOD
education as part of the curriculum.
Alcohol and Drug Free Campus: WLU should continue to encourage administration and the
Board of Governors to continue West Liberty’s current status as an alcohol free campus.
Because research shows that binge drinking has a negative effect on students and the college,
WLU should not endorse or condone any on campus use of alcohol. Consistency in the
enforcement of these rules should also be reviewed.
Supportive Services for those with AOD problems: WLU has provided counseling services in
the student fees. However, we should have a written list of resources for students with AOD
problems.