Policy Changes

Quotes from Higher Education Officials
Concerning the Effects of Drink Specials August 2003

Florida State University
Mary B. Coburn
Vice President for Student Affairs
Florida State University
(850) 644-5590

“Statistics show that the lower the price of alcohol, the more people will drink. In addition, students report that drinking is cheaper than any other form of entertainment. Reduced-price drink specials encourage college students, an already at-risk population, to drink more than they might otherwise. Laws and regulations around alcohol affect the community as a whole, and can help change social norms, thereby affecting alcohol use. Restricting drink specials is one strategy with promise for creating a safer community for everyone.”

University of West Florida
Douglas Pearson, PhD
Associate Vice President
For Student Affairs

“As a professional college administrator for 15 years, I can personally attest to the fact that everyone on campus knows which bars and clubs in the community provide responsible drinking environments and which do not. The ones that have positive environments generally rely on good entertainment and sound control practices to attract students and to make their money. The ones that do not rely heavily on drink specials to attract students and are less concerned about promoting a responsible drinking environment. I’ve noticed that groups that fall into this second category are seldom around for long, are generally out to make a quick buck, and rarely provide anything positive to the campus or community.”

University of Tampa
Bob Ruday
University of Tampa
Dean of Students
401 W. Kennedy Blvd. Box C
Tampa, FL 33606-1490
Phone: 813-253-6204

“Drink specials create many problems on our campus. We are inundated with bar flyers, causing a campus trash problem. We have problems with student vandalism when the students return from bars, drunk. Our faculty find many open seats in the morning, the students are sleeping off their hangovers. Students have the opportunity to participate in high risk drinking every night of the week - it used to be that there were no drink specials on Sunday nights in our area - now we have to fight "Sunday Sckool" (misspelling is I believe from the high gloss and slick bar flyers). Drink specials are also abundant on the Sunday night before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day -complete with "dark" figures crawling along the slick flyer. We face vandalism, abuse to women and destruction of our campus facilities. Drink specials create trash problems, interruption of many students' positive educational experience and provide for violence and destruction of university buildings.”

University of Florida
Phillip Barkley, MD
Director of Student Health Care Center
University of Florida
Phone: 352-392-1611

"The University of Florida Alcohol and Drug Survey administered in 2002, indicates that 49.7% of students believe that drink specials encourage high volume drinking among UF students. Drink specials encourage college students to drink more than they might otherwise. As a result of this additional alcohol consumption, students and others are placed at an increased risk for violence, sexual assault, academic failure, altercations with police, and emergency room visits."

University of Central Florida
Dr. Tom Huddleston,
Vice President, Student Development and EnrollmentServices,
University of Central Florida

"Irresponsible Drink Specials encourage students to drink excessively and often puts them at high risk for injury and other problems. Restricting such "Specials" would also support the prevention efforts that colleges and universities are currently engaged in. This can be done best with ongoing community and university partnerships."

Dr. Betty Straub
Consultant for U.S. Department of Education,
U.S. Department of Transportation, and the
Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Prevention.Evaluation and Consulting
231 W. Fourth St. #617A
Cincinnati Ohio 45202
Phone 513-621-1557

"Drinking specials place an unfair burden on servers who are already responsible for not serving intoxicated patrons. As bar owners are discovering, drink specials only DECREASE their net profit -- contrary to the mistaken norm -- and when they implement a minimum price of at least $2 per drink, their profits INCREASE (per Phil Will, owner of 5 bars in Muncie, IN, home of Ball State University). Let's help our legitimate business partners make more money!"

American Medical Association
Donald W. Zeigler, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
A Matter of Degree: The National Effort to Reduce High-Risk Drinking Among College Students
Office of Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse
515 N. State Street, #8252
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: (312) 464-5687
Fax: (312) 464-4024
Cell: (847) 989-4908
Donald_Zeigler@ama-assn.org
www.ama-assn.org/go/alcohol
www.alcoholpolicysolutions.net

Popular student hangouts often compete with discount or free-drink specials to attract business. Such promotions encourage rapid and excessive consumption by cutting the price of alcohol, often encouraging drinkers to purchase more than they can safely consume.

Increasingly, campus and community officials recognize that cheap drinks fuel over-consumption, which frequently leads to serious problems such as violence, vandalism and sexual assault.

Campuses and communities can bring about change.

The University of U Delaware and City of Newark passed restriction on drink specials in establishments within 300 ft of protected properties, including churches and student resident halls; and prohibited outdoor banners that promote sale of alcohol Florida State University banned alcohol advertising on campus.

U of Iowa and Iowa City prohibits drink special such as free alcohol., 2-for-1 and all-you-can-drink specials.

U Nebraska and City of Lincoln in 2002 protested high risk Spring Break drinking promotions in Panama City Beach, FL and the Florida resort community changed its promotions in 2003.

The A Matter of Degree coalition of the University of Wisconsin and the City of Madison demonstrated in 2003 that limits on weekend drink specials coincided with declines in liquor-law violations and disorderly-conduct incidents.

Controls on drink specials work.

Research indicates that preventing the time-limited discounting of alcohol results in less drinking overall. Less drinking, in turn, can help reduce alcohol-related public health and safety problems that impact communities. Alcohol consumption, even by the heaviest drinkers, declines as the price of alcohol increases. Raising the price of beer by 10% would have a dramatic impact on college students' violent behavior, including fewer students in trouble with the police, residence hall, or other college authorities; less property damage; a lower rate of students getting into arguments or fight; and a reduction in instances of drinkers taking advantage of another person sexually or also being taken advantage of sexually.

Limiting promotions and raising price are key components in environmental strategies to reduce high risk drinking and its consequences.