Safer Campuses and Communities

Frequently Asked Questions


Q. What are the key components of Safer Campuses and Communities interventions?
A. Information for students on how to host parties that are both fun and responsible.
• Law enforcement campaigns to prevent drinking and driving, sales of alcohol to minors, underage drinking, and dangerous parties.
• Placing the burden of costs to those who repeatedly require community or police response to loud or dangerous parties through a response cost ordinance.

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Q. What is the Safer Campuses and Communities message to students? (back to questions)
A. Students hosting parties are responsible for the safety of their guests and neighbors. Hosts have an ethical and often legal duty to step up and take action whenever someone's behavior puts themselves or others in danger of harm.

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Q. Don't Safer Campuses and Communities interventions rely too heavily on enforcement?
A. The problem is not too much enforcement-it has been too little enforcement. In many ways, party safety is comparable to traffic safety. Most drivers observe traffic laws, but keeping the roads safe for everyone requires enforcement measures.  People who speed or run through red lights need to be held accountable for their violations of the rules of the road. Students hosting unruly parties that increase the risk of intoxication and disrupt neighborhoods should, likewise, be held accountable for their actions and associated costs.

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Q. Will a brochure or pamphlet telling students how to host a party really change student drinking?
A. No one piece of the Safer Campuses and Communities interventions works in isolation. A brochure or pamphlet is one of several ways the community clarifies its expectations regarding student behavior and civility to students and anyone else who hosts or attends parties.

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Q. Don't the Safer Campuses and Communities interventions paint a picture of students as irresponsible and uncaring?
A. No. Many students drink little or not at all, and others are themselves concerned about dangerous behavior at some of the parties they attend. Just as traffic laws are there to protect us from injury and death, laws regarding the sale, service, and consumption of alcohol are for the benefit of all.

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Q. Aren't these interventions aimed at discouraging students from having parties?
A. No. Opportunities for socialization and relaxation among peers are an important part of college life. However, some parties pose higher risks for partygoers and neighbors. Large, uncontrolled parties that attract uninvited people and spill out into the street should be a concern for all as they are the most likely to lead to injuries, assaults, and drunk driving.

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Q. Why are students singled out in the Safer Campuses and Communities interventions? Don't other people host dangerous parties?
A. Students are not being singled out. Safer Universities interventions are directed at making parties safer no matter who hosts. The unique relationship between students and their colleges and universities can lead to even more success in helping them host safer parties with added support of fellow student guests to maintain a safe environment.

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Q. What are response cost ordinances?
A. Response cost ordinances address situations in which police are called repeatedly to an address to deal with a dangerous or unruly gathering. These local laws lace the cost of the police response and follow-up on the party host and/or landlord. Such costs can be up to $1,000. See Response Cost Ordinances for examples of ordinances in communities that have implemented Safer Campuses and Communities interventions.

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Q. What are the expected results of Safer Campuses and Communities Universities interventions?
A. The goals of the program are to promote safe learning and living environments for students and other members of the community. All residents should all be able to socialize and enjoy themselves without fears of the kinds of problems and tragedies that can result from heavy drinking and hard partying. See Evidence of Effectiveness.

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Q. We have experienced significant reductions in funding over the past decade. How can we afford a new program?
A. Can you afford not to maintain a safe, healthy, and learning-conducive environment? Think prevention, liability avoidance, risk management. Right now, you're paying for the costs of dealing with the aftermath of student drinking, i.e., property damage, student health services, public safety, judicial responses, diminished academic performance, and ultimately declines in retention. Why not leverage some of those existing resources more effectively to keep problems from happening in the first place?

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Q. Our campus is dry, so we do not have any problems on campus. What is our jurisdiction for incidents that occur off-campus?
A. Many campuses have extended their student codes of conduct to encompass off-campus behaviors that might be harmful to student health and safety. A number of campuses offer an off-campus party registration service, in cooperation with local law enforcement, to assist party hosts avoid dangerous drinking practices. Local government and neighborhood associations are concerned with community norms and can be allies to prevent both unruly parties in private residences and unsafe sales and service practices by alcohol retailers.