(This resource corresponds to Module 6.)

High-risk (or "binge" drinking—the practice of consuming multiple drinks over a short period of time) is a serious problem at colleges and universities nationwide. A 1993 national survey of more than 17,000 students at 140 four-year colleges and universities, conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, found that 44 percent of the students surveyed were high-risk drinkers. Seventeen alcohol-related deaths on campus figured prominently in the news in recent years, along with exposés on date rape, drunk driving, and other dangerous behaviors associated with high-risk drinking. Campus enforcement of a minimum drinking age is difficult, as students of all ages host parties and the number of enforcement personnel is limited.

In 1991, Stanford University received a three-year grant from the California State Office of Traffic Safety to reduce problems related to student drinking by encouraging responsible alcoholic beverage service. The Stanford Community Responsible Hospitality Project aimed to encourage members of the Stanford community to party safely and to present a clear and consistent message of responsible drinking (where legal) and hospitality. The project had five important strategies:

• Developing a group of trained student peer educators, called the Party Pros. Serving as consultants to students who were planning parties, the Party Pros offered help in selecting themes, entertainment, decorations, food, and beverages, as well as in budgeting, fund-raising, and promoting the parties.
  
  
• Training peer educators to ensure that their fellow students were familiar with State and campus alcohol policies and laws and to help student groups, such as fraternities and sororities, develop policies for their social activities.
  
  
• Training student bartenders, as well as sober “party monitors,” to oversee the guests. "Escort coordinators" were also trained to ensure that guests used designated drivers or had other safe transportation at the end of the evening.
  
  
• Sponsoring quarterly Event Planning Fairs, with presentations on liability issues and school policies. Each fair included a trade show where local businesses—such as disc jockeys, party suppliers, caterers, and florists—promoted their services.
  
  
• Establishing a Hospitality Alliance with local businesses and public safety officials, who agreed to promote responsible drinking and beverage service—and to occasionally take action against those who did not. For example, student members of the Alliance joined with a local restaurant to voice complaints about another local establishment’s ads in the campus newspaper, offering 25-cent shots; the ads were subsequently dropped.

Findings from the project showed a positive change in the university’s drinking environment; students were holding smaller and more controlled parties, using sober monitors and trained bartenders, checking IDs, and serving food and nonalcoholic beverages. Even after the Office of Traffic Safety funding ended, the Party Pros and the Hospitality Alliance continued to function at Stanford.