You are a faculty member at a local college. In the past few years, there has been a steady increase in troubling incidents involving students such as vandalism, auto accidents, and cases of attempted suicide. Several local citizens along with other faculty members have formed a committee to address these concerns. There is general agreement that much of the disruptive behavior is associated with the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Now that the committee has reached this conclusion, members need to convince college leadership that this problem is not being dealt with adequately. The committee members are convinced that if nothing is done, more tragedy will follow.

 

Your task is as follows:

 

1. Putting yourself in the place of a committee member, list each of the places you would go to collect evidence to support the committee's assertion that abuse of alcohol and other drugs on and around the campus constitutes an existing problem that is not being addressed.
2. List at least five questions you would ask any persons you planned to interview to gather evidence about the problem.
3. List at least two sources you could use to learn more about the topic of alcohol and drug abuse on college campuses.
4. Propose at least ten reasons why there might be widespread abuse of alcohol and drugs on a college campus. Be sure to think in terms of psychological pressures, developmental pressures (the age and circumstances of college students), environmental pressures (forces exerted by campus and dorm living), and community or societal pressures (culture and the mass media).

 

In your response to your classmates' posts, switch your role to that of a college leader (to whom these concerns are expressed). Critique the posting and determine if the committee member has given sufficient information to convince you of the problem of alcohol and drug abuse on campus and its effects. Review the identified reasons and consider which should have a highest rank in priority. Which identified reasons seem to have the deepest root causes? Which identified reasons seem more superficial? Which identified reasons do you think are most amenable to a program intervention? Look for the significance of the concern as well as the feasibility of alleviating it. What would be your suggestions to the committee?