Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi and Mississippi University for Women have formed a statewide coalition to prevent alcohol use by underage students. The grant was awarded to the Division of Student Affairs under the responsibility of Health Education and Wellness director Joyce Yates and assistant professor of counseling and educational psychology April Heiselt.
Heiselt, co-principal investigator in planning, implementing and evaluating the grant, said the purpose of the Stay Dry! Mississippi Coalition of Partners in Prevention is to prevent and reduce the rate of underage alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, among student at institutions of higher education, on campuses and in surrounding communities.
“The two major goals are a reduction in 30-day alcohol use among underage students and a reduction in 30-day binge drinking among underage students,” she said.
Heiselt said she realizes college culture can be a difficult thing to change.
“We know that students get bombarded with messages about underage drinking and that the students want to have a good experience while in college,” she said. “Many of these students truly believe that drinking is the only way to have fun while in college. We know this is not the case.”
She said students additionally have perceptions that other students are drinking more than they really may be.
“We hope that from exposure to real life information [given by] students on their own campuses that they will see that the underage drinking atmosphere may not be as much as they formerly believed it to be,” she said.
Yates said there were 50 proposals submitted to the U.S. Department of Education and nine were funded.
“This initiative is funded for two years, but we plan to help sustain the coalition for many years,” she said. “The success of the coalition will be dependent upon the effectiveness of the strategies to help control and reduce underage drinking and binge drinking.”
Yates said there will be increased distribution of Dry Dawgs peer mentor cards. MSU will also infuse alcohol education through academic curriculum.
“We have several alcohol-free events that we will be partnering with student associations for the implementation of these activities,” she said.
Heiselt said there are several community partners who have come on board, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Mississippians Advocating Against Underage Drinking, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership and Rick Welch, owner of Rick’s Cafe.
Heiselt said student involvement is welcome.
“Students are the ones who are on the ground floor; they know what other students will listen to and the best ways for us to get this important message out,” she said.
Vice president for student affairs Bill Kibler said the Longest Student Health Center has been a leader in the state for many years in various areas of student health.
“They are a very innovative and cutting-edge student service,” he said. “This grant is just another level of their leadership.”
Kibler said the university will continue to enforce underage drinking laws and the MSU Police Department will continue all their preventive and enforcement efforts.
“It is our desire that the message of responsibility regarding alcohol consumption will impact all students and all student organizations at MSU and the other universities involved in the program,” he said.