For seventeen years, the University’s Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Prevention has provided resources for students to encourage responsible drinking. Through its recently unveiled website, the AOD hopes to educate within a multimedia format.

“The webpage is an effort to educate the campus community in the name of transparency,” said Committee Chair and Director of Health Education Lisa Currie. “We want everyone to understand what we’re doing.”

One of the site’s main features is biennial reviews of the AOD’s efforts. In the 2004-2006 review, the committee cited the extended hours at the gym as an example of more alcohol-free nighttime options. According to data, more students have been going to the gym on weekend nights since hours were extended. In 2004-2005, 72 students, on average, went to the gym every Saturday night. In 2005-2006, the number increased to 99. This past semester, 122 students, on average, went to the gym every Saturday night. There is no data on whether drinking or drug use have gone down as a result.

In 1989, the Federal Department of Education passed the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act, requiring that all campuses institute a program to curb the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Any schools that do not comply face cuts in their federal funding.

“Obviously we wanted to comply to that,” Currie said.

Since its inception, the committee, currently 13 staff members, has had four priorities. The first is to assess current trends by examining data such as Public Safety reports and Student Judicial Board records.

“We see if there are any trends over recent years from that data,” Currie said. “Is there a particular geographic area or time of day that high-risk activity routinely occurs?”

The committee’s remaining areas of focus are to support drug education, to ensure that school policy is up-to-date, and to examine the campus environment, making sure that it encourages lifestyles free from substance dependency.

Generally, the committee is geared more towards shaping policy than enforcing it. The website, Currie said, will help involve the rest of campus in issues concerning alcohol and drug awareness.

Currie, who has been in the prevention field for 12 years, said that she has perceived a change in drug habits on campus over the years.

“I wouldn’t say there are higher or lower usage patters,” she said. “But there’s been a greater shift recently towards more extremes—students either don’t drink at all or drink a lot. It’s more black and white, and we’re seeing that happen nationally.”

Patterns have changed nationally besides quantity of usage, Currie said. The choice of drugs seems to be radically changing.

“In the last five years, there has been a significant increase in prescription drug use,” Currie said. “Nationally, prescription drug use has passed even marijuana.”

Currie attributed the rising popularity of prescription drugs as recreation to a sense of false security.

“People perceive prescription drugs as safe because they’re approved by the FDA,” she said. “There’s also been a large increase in direct consumer marketing—making people aware of prescription drugs in a way that they never have been before.”

Currie said that she views the internet is revolutionizing the world of drugs and alcohol. It has made people aware of new drugs, but also believes of their risks, she said. The newly launched website, Currie hopes, will tap into this venue for education.