College A  (Case study compiled following interviews with: President of

Student Union, Welfare Officer of Student Union, the Student Services

Manager, and College Health Promotion Officer) 

  This is a large university which  sees itself as having a reputation for

heavy student drinking and as being set in a  party town .  Anecdotal

evidence from student health and counselling services, as well as a review

of the takings from the college bar and a survey of student spending,

would tend to support this view.  There are specific worries about risky

sexual behaviours and sexual assaults linked to student drinking, and

attendance at Friday morning lectures is reckoned to be poor because of

Thursday night drinking. 

  Reaction to the college alcohol policy (which is closely modelled on the

national framework document) is varied.  Student services make the point

that senior management, while nominally supportive, is too preoccupied

with  mainstream academic affairs to play an active and ongoing role in

its implementation;  this being the case, responsibility for the policy lies  

and will continue to lie   with student services.  Both the student union

and student services note that management has not  allocated  adequate

funding for the policy, which has meant,  amongst other things, that

there has been no development of alternative, alcohol free facilities on

campus. 

  Student union officers participated in drafting the policy but believe its

broad outlines had already been laid down at national level.  While

acknowledging that students drink heavily,  both  on and off campus,  the

student union is somewhat ambivalent about the new alcohol policy

which, it suggests, patronises students.  The student union also wonders

whether closer monitoring of  drinking on campus has had the effect of

increasing off campus drinking, some of which involves high risk patterns

  such as drinking spirits or tonic wines, bought relatively cheaply in off 

licences and consumed  at home, prior to going to pubs or clubs. 

  Some student union and student service personnel still think that

education and awareness raising can play a major role in reducing related

harm, while others disagree with this. It is not clear what awareness

students have of the detail of the college alcohol policy. It was generally

agreed that there are  difficulties in changing drinking patterns which in

many cases have been established prior to coming to college, and which

are not unique to college students.  Similarly, there are disagreements as

to the wisdom of entering into partnerships with the drinks industry in

the cause of prevention.  

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