A new study released by the Harvard School of Public Health on Friday found a strong link between city and campus regulations regarding alcohol could result in lower cases of binge drinking.
The HSPH study showed that the program \A Matter of Degree,"" which encourages ending on-campus drink specials, harsher law enforcement and access to alcohol-free activities, experienced success on campuses throughout the nation.
""A Matter of Degree"" represents a departure in thought on curbing binge drinking. The normal method was one based entirely on education, with little focus placed upon the physical environment, according to Aaron Bower, UW-Madison professor in the school of social work and principal investigator in the Policy, Alternatives, Community and Education project.
""Education is just one quiver in the arrow,"" he said.
The AMOD approach still includes education, but shifts focus to the environment, according to the report published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Ten campuses, including UW-Madison, participated in the study. The five campuses that enacted the most changes had the most significant decreases in binge-drinking rates. A moderate drop occurred at these schools, where the binge drinking levels dipped 5 to 11 percent. Not only did these campuses experience the drop in binge drinking, but alcohol-related incidents such as missed classes, injuring oneself while drunk and vandalism dropped 18 percent.
Campuses that made fewer changes in their environment experienced little change in binge-drinking rates.
UW-Madison falls into this latter category.
This stagnation occurred despite efforts by PACE, which incorporated many of the policies recommended by AMOD.
Still, Brower is encouraged by the results.
""The release of this study validates all the people that are working hard on this end,"" Brower said.
The AMOD project is ongoing, and the positive results bode well for UW-Madison.
Even though AMOD experienced success, Susan Crowley, director of the PACE project at UW-Madison, acknowledged some in the community might have problems with the concepts AMOD encourages.
""We're talking about making long-term change and changing practices and policies that students and the community have learned to enjoy,"" Crowley said. ""What the Harvard study shows is that if you actually implement these policies, you will see sustainable change.\
