McDaniel College is taking part in an innovative, proactive program to lower the incidences of high-risk drinking, thanks to a two-year U.S. Department of Education grant.

Led by Grogan Ullah, project director for the Safe School Project on Alcohol Awareness, the program, called Late Nights, takes a multi-faceted approach to alcohol awareness. It includes nighttime alcohol-free events like ice cream socials and dodgeball games, guest lectures and faculty symposium, and a “straight talk” lecture series that sends young alumni into the classroom to tell new students the reality about drinking.

“Many students come to college thinking they’re entering Animal House,” says Ullah. “We can help them understand why that’s not true while creating a vehicle for students to talk to other students and alumni about responsible behavior.”

The Safe School Project, which focuses on first-year students and members of the Greek community, also incorporates student creativity through alcohol awareness posters and other art projects created by art students, and an interactive theatre program that facilitates student understanding of how to deal with alcohol-related situations.

“We want to utilize art as a means of creating social change,” says Jessica Behar ’07, a theatre consultant and alcohol awareness mobilizer with Late Nights. “The goal of the theatre troupe is to address the drinking issue with the campus as a community and to try to share some of our experiences.”

Late Nights is unique in its student-centered approach. This program relies on a network of students and alumni who serve as role models and who empower others to speak up. It was started at McDaniel because the College wanted a proactive way to address high-risk drinking on campus. Late Nights does not supplant the College’s Counseling Services, but it does support its initiatives as well as those that come from the Student Affairs office.

The goal is to reduce high-risk drinking by 5 percent within two years. Measurements will be based on campus incident records as well as surveys that ask students to reflect on their frequency of drinking.

“Research shows the primary influence on the lives of young people is within their peer group,” says Ullah. “We’re trying to allow those positive voices to come forward.”

For more information on nationwide campus initiatives on alcohol, click here http://www.higheredcenter.org/