[OldNorth] Fwd: UC Davis News: 'Safe Party Initiative' launched

Tue Sep 27 11:14:29 PDT 2005

FYI. John Lofland

>Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 10:37:36 -0700
>To: newstips at ucdavis.edu, getnews at ucdavis.edu
>From: newsservice at ucdavis.edu
>Subject: UC Davis News: 'Safe Party Initiative' launched
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>                      
>University of California, Davis
>September 27, 2005
>
>UC DAVIS AND CITY OF DAVIS LAUNCH SAFE PARTY INITIATIVE
>
>A broad-based coalition of UC Davis student leaders, administrators,
>law enforcement and health professionals, joined by City of Davis
>residents, elected officials and law enforcement today launched a
>multi-pronged "Safe Party Initiative" to target high-risk drinking
>throughout the greater Davis community.
>
>The initiative, announced at a morning news conference at the campus
>Activities and Recreation Center, will include:
>
>* Increased weekend alcohol safety enforcement patrols throughout the
>fall by both UC Davis and Davis police officers;
>* A series of neighborhood parties and barbecues to improve
>homeowner-student relations and set a community standard for safe,
>fun parties in targeted neighborhoods (the first, for the Oeste Manor
>Neighborhood Association, is scheduled for Oct. 1);
>* Student and community outreach efforts centered on a new Web site,
><http://safeparty.ucdavis.edu>, to educate partiers and their hosts
>about safe parties and ways to reduce alcohol-related risks.
>
>"As representatives of UC Davis and the Davis community, we all have
>a responsibility for the safety of our guests and neighborhood
>residents whenever we host or attend a party," said Dr. Michelle
>Famula, director of the Cowell Student Health Center at UC Davis. "We
>have a right and an obligation to set a community standard of safe
>party expectations and responsible alcohol use that respects the
>health and safety of all in our community."
>
>Also speaking at today's news conference were Judy Sakaki, UC Davis'
>vice chancellor for student affairs; Davis City Councilman Don
>Saylor; Davis Police Chief Jim Hyde; and Caliph Assagai, president of
>Associated Students of the University of California, Davis (ASUCD).
>Joining them were numerous other coalition members representing the
>campus, the city, Davis neighborhoods, Davis Campus Community Alcohol
>Coalition and the City/UCD Student Liaison Commission.
>
>"UC Davis has a commitment to the safety and well-being of our
>students and the campus community," Sakaki said. "We will work in
>partnership with others to minimize the potential detrimental effects
>of high-risk parties."
>
>The new Safe Party Initiative is supported by a five-year, $6.9
>million grant to the Prevention Research Center (PRC) in Berkeley
>from the National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA)
>aimed at reducing high-risk drinking on college campuses. As part of
>the research effort, the PRC has asked UC Davis and five other
>schools to develop and implement effective strategies to reduce
>high-risk drinking and the consequences of that drinking, including
>violence, injuries, property damage and car crashes.
>
>Representatives of the UC Davis and City of Davis communities have
>been meeting for months to devise and implement the most effective
>strategy specifically tailored to the needs and concerns of the
>greater Davis community. They relied to a great extent on UC Davis
>campus data that has demonstrated that off-campus parties are the
>most significant high-risk drinking environment for students.
>
>Indeed, a survey released earlier this year of 1,010 UC Davis
>undergraduates reported that roughly one-third of all their
>alcohol-related problems occurred or were instigated at off-campus
>parties held at private homes and apartments. In the study,
>alcohol-related problems included alcohol poisoning, unsafe sex,
>sexual assaults, other aggressive behavior and driving drunk or
>riding with a drunk driver. According to the survey results, the
>alcohol problem looms even larger when community bars, off-campus
>fraternities and outdoor settings are included.
>
>"We are not against parties; we are against problems," said Saylor,
>the Davis city councilman. "Students are a welcome part of our
>community and we all need to be respectful of the lifestyles of each
>other. We all live together here in one community. There are
>adjustments necessary on the part of students to be respectful of the
>neighborhoods they live in, and our neighborhoods also need to make
>adjustments to welcome students into the fold."
>
>At the same time, Assagai, president of ASUCD, stressed, "Most UC
>Davis students are not high-risk drinkers. And as students who live
>in Davis, we enjoy its security and we support the Safe Party
>Initiative to help keep this community safe."
>
>To help keep the Davis community safe, new 20-member joint UC Davis
>and Davis police weekend alcohol safety enforcement patrols will
>commence this Thursday, Sept. 29, and continue on Friday, Sept. 30,
>Oct. 6-7, Oct. 13-14 and then four additional nights in November to
>be determined later.
>
>Hyde, the Davis police chief, said law enforcement is focusing its
>efforts now because local crime statistics indicate that the
>incidence of driving under the influence, alcohol poisoning and
>sexual assaults peaks in the first few weeks of the fall quarter.
>
>"Students who find themselves having a party that gets out of control
>can take control by calling the police before someone else does,"
>Hyde said. "Breaking up your own party can save you a lot of money
>and problems later on. It's the best way to protect yourself, your
>neighbors and your guests."
>
>The new Web site, <http://safeparty.ucdavis.edu>, expected to be
>launched today, will offer students a central resource for planning
>and attending "safe parties," including a list of responsibilities
>for party hosts; "mocktail" recipes for non-alcoholic drinks; tips on
>responsible drinking and personal safety; lists of UC Davis policies,
>Davis city ordinances and state and federal laws related to drugs and
>alcohol; a calendar of UC Davis events; and a quick reference list of
>telephone numbers and other medical emergency contact information for
>hospitals, law enforcement and safe transportation.
>
>UC Davis is one of eight UC campuses and six California State
>University campuses (including Sacramento State) collaborating with
>the Prevention Research Center on the "Safer California Universities"
>study. UC Davis is receiving $150,000 over five years to assist in
>the administration of the annual student survey and other data
>collection activities, and an additional $45,000 to implement
>intervention strategies.
>
>Media contact(s):
>* Mitchel Benson, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9844,
>mdbenson at ucdavis.edu
>
>
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