History of the DePauw University Alcohol Program

The high-risk use of alcohol on college campuses across the nation is of great concern to many and has gained much attention recently due to alcohol-related tragedies involving college students. The alcohol culture at DePauw reflects much of the nation-wide concern and is an environment in which we constantly assess as well as devote a great deal of our attention. We want to ensure a safe living and learning environment for all of our community members.

The DePauw Alcohol Program uses an environmental approach and seeks to involve all areas of our campus community, ranging from the athletic department creating a student conduct code that sets expectations for student athletes and their alcohol use, Resident Assistants and Mentors holding ongoing conversations with first-year students, new student orientation emphasizing responsible decision making and alcohol education, Greek Affairs and Public Safety increasing risk management training and providing more resources to Greek organizations, Counseling and Health Services developing advanced intervention strategies, to student organizations increasing non-alcoholic event programming.

High-risk alcohol use is not a new problem and has been something DePauw has been addressing for many years by banning kegs in the mid-90s, increasing regulations for parties, and paying closer attention to risk management procedures. Alcohol education and awareness efforts have also been increased to ensure our students are informed. By doing these things we are working towards a safer environment for all of our students.

Perhaps most importantly, in March of 2003, President Robert Bottoms announced the formation of the Coalition for a Responsible Community and challenged all members of our community to engage in long-term conversations about the kind of community in which we all want to live in. Concerns over high-risk alcohol use was a major factor driving this initiative, and it certainly has sparked conversation and increased awareness about the role alcohol plays in our culture. Today, alcohol awareness and education is a community-wide issue that requires each member of our community to be engaged in so that we may comprehensively address this issue.

The Alcohol Task Force was re-convened in 2004 as a collaboration of key staff members who contribute to the University’s alcohol education and awareness efforts. It is a key group in programming and ensuring proper attention is focused on this important issue on our campus. While the task force aims to provide education on all facets of alcohol use, the primary focus this year has been to aggressively target high-risk alcohol use. Members include representatives from Athletics, Student Affairs, Residence Life and Housing, Greek Affairs, Public Safety, Counseling Services, Student Health Services, Student Academic Support Services, and Judicial Affairs. The group is convened twice each month by the chair of the task force, Cara Brumby, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Community Development.

For more information on the Coalition for a Responsible Community, please click here.