Family Resources
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Many colleges and universities are inviting families to help them prevent high-risk drinking among college students. 2011 research argues for parents/guardians continued influence on the behaviors and attitudes of students well into their teenage years, especially during the transition from high school to college. Parental involvement was shown to have a significant impact on the drinking behaviors of students attending colleges and universities.
More Opportunities
Accordingly, we have created more opportunities for parental involvement in reducing high-risk drinking among our students.
Some of Our New Initiatives Are
- In January 2019, Provost Persis Drell and Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole wrote to undergraduates outlining new alcohol policy approaches and shared the letter with parents/guardians as well to enlist them as partners.
- Letter to Parents/Guardians: In early August, the parents/guardians of this year's incoming class received a letter from the university encouraging them to have candid conversations with their students about alcohol use. The letter also describes the resources the university provides about the dangers associated with high-risk drinking.
- Creation of the Parent/Guardian Guide to help parents and guardians get the most out of their conversations about alcohol with their college students.
- Provost’s Address: During last year's New Student Orientation, Provost Drell spoke about the University's focus on high-risk drinking. She encouraged parents/guardians to take a proactive role in engaging their students around alcohol use and gave them concrete topics to discuss. The Provost will address the parents of this year's incoming class with similar messages and additional opportunities for involvement.
The January 2019 Letter Highlighted
- Collaborating with the Stanford Law School Policy Lab on Alcohol Use Among Stanford Undergraduates, which is analyzing and benchmarking relevant Stanford data and policies. Both undergraduate and law students are participating in this effort, moderated by former law school Dean Paul Brest and School of Medicine Professor Keith Humphreys. We expect to hear the outcomes of their work, including recommendations, in winter quarter.
- Expanding Cardinal Nights and 5-SURE thanks to a generous one-time gift from a donor. Both have been immensely popular. In 2017-18, total attendance at Cardinal Night events topped 22,000 and approximately 10,500 passengers used 5-SURE.
- Becoming a JED Campus, which will help us strengthen a number of campus-wide factors that together support student mental health and well-being.
- Compiling data on Stanford student alcohol consumption, with plans to share a full report with the campus community this quarter so that we can work collectively to understand and address the problem of high-risk drinking on campus.
- Increasing our emphasis on training, support and resources for all residential student staff regarding responding to and intervening when high-risk drinking occurs in campus residences. We know it is critical that student staff feel supported as they seek to help residents connect with the resources and education they need to be safe.
