October 2005

Up for discussion: Keeping parties safe

Whether parents like it or not, at some point during their students' college years, they will likely attend parties or host them. To keep students safe and reduce high-risk drinking during those occasions, particularly at off-campus locations, UC Davis and the Davis community have joined forces to launch the "Safe Party Initiative."

"It's important for parents to realize that we're trying to give students skills in dealing with situations they haven't dealt with before," says Michelle Johnston, health promotion supervisor at the Cowell Student Health Center. "We're also working to create environments that help students be safe and have fun."

The new Safe Party Initiative is supported by a five-year, $6.9 million grant to the Prevention Research Center in Berkeley from the National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA). UC Davis was one of several UC and CSU campuses that participated in research conducted by the NIAAA to identify the highest-risk drinking environments for students. At UC Davis, researchers found off-campus parties to pose the most significant risk.

Indeed, a survey released earlier this year of more than 1,000 UC Davis undergraduates showed that a majority of alcohol-related problems happened or started at off-campus locations. These problems included alcohol poisoning, unsafe sex, sexual assaults, other aggressive behavior and drunk driving.

With these research results in mind, UC Davis and five other schools are developing and implementing effective strategies to reduce high-risk drinking and its consequences. A new Safe Party Web site, hosted by the Cowell Student Health Center and the Student Programs and Activities Center, offers tips and strategies for partiers and their hosts, as well as "mocktail" recipes for non-alcoholic drinks, warning signs of alcohol poisoning, lists of UC Davis policies, Davis city ordinances and state and federal laws related to drugs and alcohol, law enforcement contact information and safe transportation options.

"The Web site is simply one contribution to a larger collaborative effort by campus and community members to decrease high-risk drinking and improve party safety," says Dr. Michelle Famula, director of the Cowell Student Health Center.

Weekend alcohol safety enforcement patrols will be stepped up throughout the fall by both UC Davis and city police officers. And because off-campus parties can lead to friction between students and city residents who may have a different definition of "just having a good time," a series of neighborhood parties and barbecues will be held to open the lines of communication.

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