Program targets alcohol and student behavior

A new "Stay in the Blue" program that encourages students who drink to make safer choices is getting known around campus—just in time for final exams, a period known for excessive drinking.

"We have about 25 percent of U-M undergrads that haven't had any alcohol in the past month—that's over 6,000 (reporting) students," says Marsha Benz, alcohol and other drug health educator with University Health Service (UHS), which implemented the program. "But we need to address the alcohol issue for those who choose to drink."

Stay in the Blue (SIB) is an awareness campaign that seeks to help students who drink understand the effect alcohol has on the body, with a goal of encouraging moderation. Wallet-sized blood alcohol cards (BACs) measure the effects of different drinks in varying quantities.

"The Stay in the Blue campaign is about planning your party and provides a tool—wallet-sized blood alcohol content cards—to help. The BAC cards are separated by gender and contain three colors: Blue, for lower risk BACs—hence, 'Stay in the Blue'; maize, for much riskier BACs; and red, for risk of death from alcohol poisoning.

"I've heard the same message over the years I've been here: We study hard and we party hard," Benz says. "Yet partying hard can result in students having experiences they don't want along with their celebration."

Megan Jacobs, a senior and UHS program assistant, knows students who reiterate the campaign's message after a night out at the bar. "A friend of mine, after regrettably engaging in sexual activity with her ex-boyfriend one night, sent me a text message stating that 'From now on, I'll be in the blue,'" she recalls. "Other friends will come up to me at the bar, tell me how many drinks they've had over a certain period of time and ask for kudos for staying in the blue.'"

Benz adds: "I'll borrow a slogan from another university: 'Study hard and party well.' We're not about destroying anyone's fun—we want that fun to occur without the negative side effects.

"The cards help students moderate their drinking to a safe and reasonable degree. In the fall, we'll start adding other tools that students have told us they use to Stay in the Blue."

Faculty can assist the campaign by having materials available in classes and avoiding glorification of past or current heavy alcohol use or making light of students with obvious hangovers.

Faculty and staff also can get a SIB T-shirt to wear if they are willing to explain the meaning when asked. UHS encourages faculty and staff to talk to students about what's going on in their lives and to take additional steps to refer students for help if alcohol is getting in the way of their personal, academic or work lives.

Pre-testing of the program was performed with a variety of students before it was initiated last summer. "Students seemed pleasantly surprised that we listened to them and developed the campaign based on what they told us," Benz says.

Benz strongly advocates the educational campaign. "I started my public health career in sexual health, specifically in HIV risk reduction. I've always had a special interest in adolescent and young adult health, and I saw the huge connection between a college student's heavy alcohol use and risky sexual behaviors," she says.

Stay in the Blue is part of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Prevention Program; a comprehensive program that develops and facilitates prevention efforts on campus, and oversees policy implementation and most programmatic efforts regarding alcohol and other drug prevention, education and intervention.

One of the main program strategies is harm reduction, based on current research in public health, social work, psychology and behavior change that this is the most effective way to reduce excessive alcohol use.

"We recognize that most students are adults when they arrive on campus and we need to respect them as adults; understanding that they are capable of making good decisions. Despite the fact that it is illegal to drink if you are under 21, many students choose to drink underage, so the best way to encourage responsible behavior is a harm-reduction approach," Benz says.

To promote the campaign, buttons were available for students to wear during orientation, the theme was included in a student theater presentation, and program representatives were invited daily to parent orientation panels.

"The message is carried through our print materials, alcohol workshops, trainings, HIV counseling sessions and other interactions with students," Benz says.

"All the first-year students know about Stay in the Blue as do several Greek Houses, student groups and some off-campus students," Benz continues. But even with general acceptance, the campaign has run into challenges from some people on campus and from a handful of parents who expressed concerns that the program encourages underage drinking, Benz says.

"Our expertise is in public health. We need to focus on what will reduce the amount of drinking and what will reduce the harm that students may experience."

For more information go to www.uhs.umich.edu/wellness or contact Benz at marshua@umich.edu.

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