New Tool Highlights Alcohol Safety
As of this fall, students who commit alcohol-related violations of university policy are likely to be required to take a class about alcohol safety as part of the disciplinary process, says Lori Berquam, dean of students. The instruction is called BASICS (Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students).
“By requiring [BASICS] after alcohol-related offenses, we hope to help students avoid academic trouble, legal trouble and health problems — all of which are linked to unsafe consumption,” says Berquam, who serves as co-chair of the Chancellor’s Alcohol Policy Group with Sarah Van Orman, executive director of University Health Services (UHS).
Tom Sieger, director of prevention services and campus health initiatives at UHS, says that BASICS has been used on other college campuses and found to be “highly effective in helping 18- to 24-year-old students make better alcohol-use decisions.”
Students may be instructed to attend a group experience with eight to 12 other students or one-on-one sessions with a professional substance-abuse counselor. Students must pay $78 for the group class and $200 for the one-on-one sessions.
The chancellor’s group has also approved new guidelines that allow students to assist others in an emergency situation, such as calling 911 for a person who may have alcohol poisoning, without fear that they may receive an underage alcohol citation themselves, unless there are mitigating circumstances.
For more information about the new guidelines, visit the Division of Student Life website.