Simply put, campus alcohol policy shapes the environment in which people make choices about drinking. HadEnough defines alcohol policy very simply as "what institutions and governments do or don't do about alcohol and the conditions and problems associated with its misuse." *

This definition recognizes that policy is not just the purview of public institutions such as Congress and government agencies, but also of places where we live, work, play and study. It acknowledges inaction (or the perpetuation of the status quo) as policy. Finally, it recognizes that alcohol-related problems involve more than the individual and the drug—in this case, alcohol. They are also shaped by the broader cultural, political, social, economic and physical environment.

To be effective, campus alcohol policy must include more than efforts to educate students about the consequences of alcohol misuse or interventions that focus primarily on treating or punishing those who may be putting at risk their own or others' health and and safety. Those efforts are important and necessary, but they are unlikely to be effective if other factors that mold the college drinking culture promote, support, and accomodate excessive drinking. These factors run from the obvious (i.e. the campus flanked by dozens of bars that cater to students with cheap-drink promotions) to the more subtle (i.e. the campus bookstore that offers among its wares racks upon racks of shot glasses, beer mugs, and wine glasses, all bearing the school's logo).

Ideally, campus policies should contain specific measures to de-emphasize illegal, excessive, and unnecessary alcohol consumption and promote the primary academic and social goals of the institution. Effective campus-community collaboration is essential to tackling the range of off-campus factors that can significantly shape the drinking environment. Policies should be comprehensive and developed with input from students, faculty, administrators, and community members. Click here for a list of objectives alcohol policy should address, and examples of what it might include.

* This section partially excerpted from the Alcohol Policy Network (Ontaria, Canada) Visit them on the web at www.apolnet.org.