A 12 month pilot scheme set up by the NUS (National Union of Students) will see seven universities from around Britain launch The NUS Alcohol Impact Scheme. The idea being that student unions are being asked to offer at least one quality, non-alcoholic, mainstream social event every six months and particularly during freshers weeks. The scheme will run for 12 months at Loughborough, Nottingham, Swansea, Brighton. Manchester Metropolitan, Liverpool John Moores and Royal Holloway universities and is intended to cut binge drinking and anti-social behaviour on the university campus.
Crime prevention minister Norman Baker is now spending £90,000 on limiting the sale, promotion and advertising of alcohol, ensuring subsidised bars also sell low-priced non-alcoholic drinks, limiting or preventing alcohol-related initiation ceremonies, and action to tackle pub crawls and social media drinking games. The idea is to get students to swap binge drinking for a café culture where by they can enjoy a coffee orientated hangout as opposed to a boozy blowout.
Binge drinking at universities is nothing new but that doesnt mean it is a good idea, said crime prevention minister Norman Baker. Who went on to add:
Some students find themselves encouraged to participate in alcohol-fuelled activities which can damage health and in some cases spill over into disorder and anti-social behaviour.
Crime prevention minister Norman Baker, British Liberal Democrat politician.
The NUS Alcohol Impact project, backed by the Home Office, will help participating universities to encourage responsible drinking leading to safer and more productive places to study and live.
Accreditation should become a badge of honour for universities, and another factor which helps promote their world class teaching and research to prospective domestic and international students.
Alcohol has always been part of student life. Thomas Vander Ven, whos written a book aptly named, Getting Wasted: wrote, Students are more likely to say and do things when they drink. Things that they normally wouldnt do??show affection to their peers, get angry at them, get more emboldened to sing and dance and take risks and act crazy and theres a ton of laughing that goes on Alcohol was a vehicle for hooking up and meeting people and having romantic and sexual interactions. But why we ask?? It only brings regret and the pain splitting headache, followed by the desperate need to be sick and worst of all THE FEAR.
Either way, we would like to hear your opinion. Will the scheme work in your opinion? Can you see a way of improving the scheme ie cheap coffee after 9pm? Is it something that you want to be involved with?
Please let us know.
