Most of our students make great choices and decisions while at Ohio University. They study hard, make friends, get involved, prepare themselves for life and career, and are responsible citizens. They take advantage of the opportunities available to them, and make great contributions to the University and Athens communities.
But, because we care about students' health and safety, students' academic success, and the welfare of our campus and community, we are concerned about those students who make poor choices – those who choose to drink excessively, or in a high-risk way.
High-risk drinking is the excessive consumption of alcohol that leads to serious negative consequences, not only for those who are drinking but for others around the person drinking. The negative consequences include academic failure, accidents, falls, fights, injuries, sexual assaults, vandalism, and arrests.
High-risk drinking poses a significant health and safety risk to college students across America. You can play a critical role in helping your student limit the risk, and we hope you'll join us in doing all that we can to help every student and our community avoid these types of consequences. Details on how you can help follow in this website.
Thank you for the support that you continue to provide to your student and to Ohio University.
There are several key ways that you can support your student and help limit risks related to alcohol:
If you believe that your student has a drinking problem, support them in getting assistance. Suggest they complete an anonymous on-line self-assessment at www.alcoholscreening.org or that they have a confidential conversation with a counselor at Counseling & Psychological Services, 337 Hudson Health Center, (740) 593-1616. If you believe your student is at risk for serious harm due to alcohol use, consult with a counselor at Counseling & Psychological Services, 337 Hudson Health Center, (740) 593-1616 or, in an emergency, contact the Office of the Dean of Students, Baker University Center, 740-593-1800 or the Ohio University Police Department, Scott Quad, (740) 593-1911 (24/7).
We care about the health, safety and success of students, but we also care about the welfare of the campus and community. When a student's behavior violates the Student Code of Conduct (due to alcohol use or for some other reason), the student will be disciplined. Complete text of the Student Code of Conduct and a description of the process employed to address allegations of violations is
here.
A couple of key highlights of the disciplinary system as it relates to alcohol are:
While we recognize our obligation to enforce all local, state and federal law related to alcohol, we also know that not all students under the age of 21 will abstain from using alcohol. For those students who choose to consume alcohol, preventing alcohol-related problems is important. Research findings indicate that “risk reduction” strategies are effective for reducing alcohol consumption and abuse among college students, including those under 21 and those over 21. We employ the risk reduction model as a dimension of our overall strategy to reduce high-risk drinking. The risk reduction model systematically works toward increasing the incidence of abstinence among college students while at the same time decreasing high-risk use and associated problems.
All new students at Ohio University are required to successfully complete a 2 ½ hour online alcohol education course called "AlcoholEdu for College." This nationally-distributed program is interactive and employs cutting edge technology, and is intended to challenge students' expectations around alcohol while enabling them to make healthier and safer decisions. It does not assume that a student drinks. Parents or others can view or complete the course themselves by using the "Parent Login" available here.