University of Minnesota: Seminar for Parents on College Finances

The University of Minnesota recognized the role that parents play in students’ adjustment to college, and, therefore, are instrumental in helping young people achieve success. The University Parent Program and the Department of Family Social Science partnered to create a Seminar for Parents on College Finance that addresses the many messages about credit cards, spending, budgeting and debt students will absorb from the media, popular culture and their friends. This course provides parents with resources, information, support and education to support their student and their family during the college adjustment process. Ultimately, the goal of this seminar is to provide accurate and up-to-date information to parents that can be then shared with students to help them make thoughtful and responsible decisions when it comes to managing their finances. 

In addition to important lessons about family finances, planning for college expenses and information on credit cards, the University of Minnesota also includes a lesson on college gambling. The University of Minnesota recognizes that the college years may represent a heightened risk for developing gambling problems and, therefore, has included information to address this issue. The section on gambling covers the following topics:  

• Types of gamblers 
• Rates of gambling 
• Risk factors for problem gambling 
• Problem gambling, alcohol and drugs 
• Warning signs of problem gambling 
• Additional resources on gambling 

University of Missouri:  Keeping the Score

A statewide coalition in Missouri was founded to collaboratively develop strategies for promoting positive, healthy choices among Missouri’s college students. The coalition, called Partners in Prevention, is composed of public institutions of higher education in Missouri and relevant state agencies and provides funding to reduce high-risk behaviors and to implement a strategic plan for prevention based on science-based practices.

Partners in Prevention recognized the importance of understanding gambling is not a risk-free activity and that it is becoming increasingly important to learn risk factors, warning signs and strategies to protect yourself or someone you care about.  To address this issue, it created the Gambling Prevention Program. The goals for the Gambling Prevention Program include:

• Provide education on problem gambling as an increasing public health concern; communicate the signs and symptoms of problem gambling; and provide information about campus and community resources.  
• Provide presentations to ‘at risk’ groups on campus (residential halls, Greek houses, etc.) to address effective strategies for identifying and preventing unhealthy gambling habits. 
• Help educate student support professionals among the public institutions of Missouri, through drive-in workshops that address effective strategies for identifying, preventing and treating problem gambling among college students. 
• Examine policies on gambling issues related to sponsored casino nights and Internet gambling on university property. 

Housed at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Wellness Resource Center, “Keeping the Score,” was developed to inform and educate students, educators, financial aid workers and student affairs professionals about issues related to gambling behavior on college campuses. This comprehensive website achieves its goals by providing a wealth of information on the following topics:

• Warning signs on problem gambling and the process of addiction
• Types of gambling and gambling behavior
• How to gamble responsibly
• Where to find help for problem gambling
• Information for parents on warning signs and how they can help
• Information for educators on the history of gambling, the impact of gender on gambling and program ideas for institutions
• Frequently asked question about problem gambling
• Quick facts
• Resources for additional information on gambling and problem gambling

University of Alabama: Gambling Action Team

In light of the extensive availability of legalized gambling and the fact many college students are of legal age to gamble, the University of Alabama created the Gambling Action Team to facilitate campus-wide awareness and assistance strategies to address problem gambling and related issues. The panel’s responsibilities include providing practical information, learning opportunities and educational and awareness programs for the student body, targeting student-athletes, the Greek system, graduate students, freshman and faculty/staff.

The University of Alabama’s Gambling Action Team involves the division of student affairs, intercollegiate athletics, the student counseling center, the office of the dean of students, the student health center, the university police, university relations, human resources and various academic departments. This group developed a plan of action that incorporates the following goals:

• Develop a comprehensive gambling education program for the student body and faculty/staff under the direction of the Gambling Action Team.
• Provide consultation services to the student body on problem gambling and debt management.
• Develop an approach to raise awareness regarding problem gambling and related issues on campus.
• Ensure compliance with local, state and federal laws (and NCAA rules and regulations).

To achieve these goals, the Gambling Action Team developed several initiatives to conduct campus-wide communications. One such initiative is a brochure, “Don’t Gamble with Your Future,” which covers myths about gambling, phases of problem gambling, signs of a gambling disorder, sports wagering, debt management and sources of confidential help or assistance. The brochure was widely distributed to all students during each university orientation session, residence hall check-in and fraternity and sorority recruitment.

Additionally, the Gambling Action Team created a fall education program that includes presentations and literature about gambling, including:

• Consequences and penalties 
• Student-athlete gambling  
• Student-athlete sports gambling flyer   
• UA gambling symposium brochure   
• You Bet You Lose men’s brochure  
• You Bet You Lose women’s brochure  

View additional information on the University of Alabama’s gambling initiatives and literature created by the Gambling Action Team.

University of Denver: High Risk Prevention Council

During the spring of 2010, the University of Denver expanded its Alcohol Council to include four other high-risk behaviors, including gambling, and was re-named the High Risk Prevention Advisory Council (HRPAC). The goal of the HRPAC is to be cognizant about high-risk behaviors among students that impact academic and personal success in a college environment, and provide resources and solutions on how to address these high-risk behaviors through the creation of partnerships, policy recommendations, support of programming initiatives and assessment practices. The HPAC will achieve this goal through: 

• Partnerships: HRPAC will identify partnerships and establish relationships with community agencies that offer prevention/intervention resources and programs.
• Policy Recommendations: HRPAC will make policy recommendations to those in leadership that can shape and ultimately make institutional changes as it relates to high-risk behaviors at the University of Denver.
• Programming: HRPAC will work with existing offices and campus organizations to provide information and resources to the DU community about high-risk behaviors and how to address them. This could include: the development of publications, dissemination of statistical data, and modest financial and staff volunteer support for events.
• Practices: HRPAC will support the development of practices that consistently assess the presence of high-risk behaviors on the DU campus and the effectiveness of institutional initiatives that respond to these behaviors.

As part of its programming goal, the HRPAC developed a Resource Guide to provide additional facts and resources to help prevent, identify and treat the five high-risk behaviors. 

The University of Denver has also developed the Problem Gambling Treatment and Research Center, which offers a treatment program for anyone affected by problem gambling. The Center recognizes that, like alcoholism and other addictions, gambling addiction is a very real, very serious disorder – one that has far-reaching and devastating implications for many individuals.

The Center offers resources to identify problem gambling, resources for treatment providers, and a variety of services for problem gamblers and their family members. They also host an Annual Problem Gambling in Colorado conference featuring expert speakers and training seminars at no cost for treatment providers.

Oregon State University: Student Health Services website

Oregon State University’s Health Promotion Department strives to enhance the health of students through acquisition of knowledge and skills and to provide leadership in the development of a community that supports healthy lifestyles (choices) through ongoing collaborative relationships with the campus and community resources. The Health Promotion Department is committed to providing health promotion and prevention programs for OSU students and has created a website where students can get more information on many different issues.

Oregon State University recognizes that gambling is a student health issue and has incorporated gambling and gambling disorders into its Student Health Services website.  The gambling section covers the following topics:

• Facts on college gambling
• Problem gambling and warning signs
• Tips for safer gambling
• Treatment options for problem gamblers 

Harvard University:  The Harvard-Yale Game

(Note:  Harvard University has long been involved in studying gambling disorders. Its Division on Addictions at the Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, established the Task Force on College Gambling Policies in 2008. Below is a case study provided by Ryan M. Travia, director of the Office of Alcohol & Other Drug Services in the Department of Behavioral health & Academic Counseling at Harvard University Health Services.  Harvard University’s efforts to reduce alcohol-related harms resulting from the Harvard-Yale football game tailgate demonstrate that campus resistance to change can be the main challenge.)

Background

The creation and implementation of college alcohol and gambling policies is far from an exact science.  Currently, there are no standardized scientific guidelines for the creation of school policy directed toward alcohol and other potentially addictive behaviors (e.g. gambling).  Given the similarities between these addictive behaviors, much of the research literature on college gambling has looked at college alcohol studies as a frame of reference. As institutions of higher education continue to explore the epidemiology of college gambling and seek to develop, implement and evaluate effective programs and policies aimed at reducing excessive gambling among students, we can look to successful models of substance abuse prevention programs in an attempt to extrapolate those practices which may be replicable on other campuses.

The Office of Alcohol & Other Drug Services at Harvard University was created partly in response to a sharply rising trend in admissions to Harvard University Health Services for acute alcohol intoxication, as well as a host of alcohol-related problems at the University’s bigger events, such as the annual Harvard-Yale football game. Traditionally regarded as the highest-risk drinking event during any given academic year, “The Game” is entering its 125^th year, and draws approximately 30,000 students, faculty, staff, and alumni, along with their families, to Cambridge and New Haven, on an alternating basis. The last several years have been of particular concern for Harvard and its surrounding community, including the Boston Police Department, who has taken a special interest in the event by exercising its authority to ensure a greater degree of order and safety than present historically. Although it is clear that tensions were building prior to 2002, the 2002 tailgate was considered to be a watershed event, with the defining moment being the near-death of a severely intoxicated undergraduate in an ambulance stuck in the mud.  State Police were called-in to assist in extricating the ambulance and escorting the student to the nearest emergency department. A staff member of Facilities, Maintenance and Operations recounted that while cleaning up after the 2002 tailgate on the following Sunday morning, a grounds crew employee observed two students passed out in a mound of trash at the athletic field complex behind the stadium. The employee was operating a bulldozer at the time, and nearly plowed over the students.  Evidently, the students had been passed out in the trash all night. Direct transports from the student tailgate area to local emergency departments for acute alcohol intoxication rose from 19 students in 2002 to 30 students in 2004, which resulted in wide-spread provision of medical treatment for Harvard students, forcing Cambridge hospitals to go on “divert,” sending intoxicated students to several additional medical facilities throughout the City of Boston. Additionally, 30 students were admitted to University Health Services in 2004, and 97 students were cited by the authorities for various alcohol-related infractions. These data, accompanied by mounting pressure from the Boston Police Department, led to elevated concerns about how Harvard College could ensure the health and safety of its students, while preserving the University’s relationships with the surrounding community. 

Shortly after arriving at Harvard in August 2005, the Dean of the College requested that I visit New Haven, Connecticut, to attend the Harvard-Yale football game, in an effort to observe the strategies put in place by Yale’s administration. We assembled a team from Harvard, including staff from the Office of Student Life and Activities, the Department of Behavioral Health and Academic Counseling, and colleagues from the Harvard University and Boston Police Departments. Upon returning to Harvard from our site visit, we commenced upon an intense year-long strategic planning initiative to prepare for our next home game the following fall.  

Implementation

In my role as Director of Alcohol & Other Drug Services, I frequently advise the University on issues pertaining to alcohol policy. In light of the critical incidents that had taken place at Harvard in previous years during “The Game,” and considering what we had observed in New Haven, it was time to undertake a major reform initiative. As such, I was charged with serving as the primary architect for overhauling the alcohol policy for the event. In collaboration with several partners from across the University, including: the Office of the Dean of Harvard College, the Office of Student Life and Activities, the Office of Residential Life, the Department of Athletics, Dining Services, Parking, Facilities, Management, and Operations, University Health Services, the Office of Government, Community, and Public Affairs, Harvard Alumni Association, and both the Harvard University and Boston Police Departments, significant changes were made to the alcohol policy for the 2006 game.  

Rooted in environmental management theory, a comprehensive approach grounded in the social ecological model of public health that acknowledges and attempts to address a broad array of factors that influence individual health decisions and behaviors on the institutional, community, and public policy levels, in addition to those at the individual and group levels, these strategies included: closing the student tailgate area at halftime; prohibiting individuals from standing on top of trucks or other vehicles; prohibiting all forms of alcohol and other beverages from being brought into the student tailgating area; prohibiting drinking paraphernalia, other items that promote rapid consumption of alcohol, as well as drinking games; and contracting with a third party vendor to serve beer and malt beverages to those of legal drinking age (see Appendix 1). Students were carded and given bracelets by Harvard’s Beverage Authorization Team, permitting of-age students to purchase alcoholic beverages, within a given drink limit.  Finally, substantial food and non-alcoholic beverages were provided free-of-charge by Harvard University Dining Services to all Harvard and Yale students on a continuous basis during the tailgating hours.  

These dramatic changes, enforced by Harvard University Police, were completely contrary to what students and alumni had previously experienced, that is to say, a general lack of enforcement around underage and unsafe drinking practices.  Many students and alumni were incredibly unhappy to learn of the new rules, and were quick to vocalize their disapproval. Countless editorials appeared in The Harvard Crimson, the daily independent student newspaper, and for months, members of the Harvard administration and Boston Police Department were verbally attacked, with expressed concerns that these new restrictions would not merely do away with the bacchanalia associated with this event, but would rather “force the drinking underground,” contributing to a guaranteed increase in hospitalizations and arrests. Still, the University stood its ground, supporting the changes to the existing policy, and focused efforts on creating a weekend of festivities that would appeal to both students and alumni, including a pep rally, festive meals, and several social events sponsored by students groups and House Masters. In the meantime, the University continued its emergency preparedness, setting up an additional unit in Health Services to increase the capacity of its 10-bed infirmary, staffed a medical tent in the tailgate area, and trained a number of residential life staff to serve “on-call” during the event, respond to emergencies, and confront inappropriate behavior.

Implications

The results were staggering. Despite students’ insistence that no one would attend the tailgate, a record 9,200 students entered the turnstiles on the morning of the game. The overall number of medical transports for acute alcohol intoxication decreased from 30 students to 1 student, and as a result, the nurses who were prepared to treat intoxicated students, instead interacted with the tailgaters, handing out nearly 3,000 individual bottles of water as a harm reduction strategy and sign of good will. The number of admissions to University Health Services decreased from 30 students to 4 students, and the number of alcohol-related incidents/ejections decreased from 97 to 28. Perhaps the biggest issue encountered was that medical staff ran out of water bottles within the first two hours of the event.

Students and staff worked diligently to ensure the safety of this important event. Surprisingly, the football stadium was at-capacity, filled with students for the first time in recent memory. While the new policies restricting access to and availability of alcohol were viewed as highly controversial among many students (and some skeptical staff), Harvard-Yale 2006 was a tremendous success. We altered institutional policy with the goal of ensuring the health and safety of students, and ultimately contributed to cultural and environmental change. The development of clear, consistently enforced alcohol policies had a dramatic and positive effect on student life at Harvard, and may have similar outcomes when applied to alcohol and/or gambling policies at other institutions.  

Appendix 1

The Rules of the Game:  Harvard-Yale 2006 

1. Student tailgates will be located in Ohiri Field and will open three hours prior to the start of the game. All student tailgates will be closed after half-time.  Students are encouraged to pick up their free tickets at the Athletics Department well in advance of the game date.
2. For safety reasons, no one will be allowed on top of trucks or other vehicles.  
3. Access to the authorized student tailgate area in Ohiri Field will be limited to individuals with a valid Harvard or Yale ID.
4. All forms of alcohol are prohibited from being brought in to the student tailgating area. Drinking paraphernalia, items that promote rapid consumption of alcohol, and drinking games are prohibited. No one entering the student tailgate area will be allowed to bring in any beverages of any kind. No one may leave the student tailgate area with an alcoholic beverage.
   Vehicles entering the tailgate area the night before, and the morning of, the tailgate will be inspected. (All vehicles will have been issued an official pass to enter the area.)
5. Beer, spiked hot chocolate, and malt beverages will be available for purchase by those of legal drinking age. Professional Bartending, Inc. has been contracted to set up three stations where students may purchase drinks for $1.00. There will be fifteen professional bartending staff working at three stations to help avoid lines.
   Harvard’s Beverage Authorization Team (BAT) will have stations where students of legal drinking age may obtain bracelets enabling them to purchase alcoholic drinks. Students must show a College I.D. and either a driver’s license or a passport.
6. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, including hot chocolate, will be provided free-of-charge for all Harvard and Yale students on a continuous basis during the student tailgating hours.
7. Visibly intoxicated individuals will not be admitted to the student tailgate area. Unruly behavior and public urination do not meet our community standards and will not be tolerated in the student tailgate area.

References