2007 - 2008 BARF (Be A Responsible Friend) Campaign

College and university administrators have consistently cited high-risk drinking as the number-one substance abuse problem on campus. High-risk drinking is a contributing factor in poor academic performance, property damage, physical violence, unintentional injury, and the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

Researchers have established that college students tend to grossly overestimate the number of their peers who engage in high-risk alcohol consumption. This misperception is believed to influence students to drink more heavily by changing their perceptions of normative expectations (social norms) around drinking. In other words, students may feel pressured to drink because they believe that "everyone else is doing it."

The basic idea behind a social norms marketing campaign is to turn this dynamic around by using campus-based media to inform students about the true levels of alcohol consumption among their peers. The actual levels of alcohol consumption among college students are much lower than students perceive them to be. Having accurate information about college alcohol use is hypothesized to lead to changes in perceptions of drinking norms on campus and, in turn, may lead to fewer students engaging in high-risk drinking.

Campus media campaigns (such as newspaper ads, posters, flyers, electronic bulletin boards, banners, carabineers, and radio ads) will feature positive statistics about St.Edward's students which illustrate that most students make low-risk choices with respect to alcohol consumption.

A demonstrated reduction in alcohol consumption may, over time, improve levels of academic performance and reduce instances of physical violence, unintentional injury, littering, vandalism, and exposure to sexually transmitted infections. By promoting student health and safety in this way, we hope to see an improved atmosphere and learning environment on campus in general.

Click the following link to view a sample of posters and flyers developed for the BARF Campaign between 2006 - 2008.