The MIT Community Development and Substance Abuse Center (CDSA) is one of five university organizations to receive two years of funding as a 2010 Model of Exemplary, Effective, and Promising Alcohol or Other Drug Abuse Prevention Programs on College Campuses. Awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, the program seeks to identify and disseminate information about exemplary and effective alcohol or other drug (AOD) abuse prevention programs implemented on college campuses.
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry personally called the CDSA to inform them of the award last week.
“For the past 10 years, the CDSA Center has been collecting student self-reported data that highlights the strong association between high-risk alcohol and other drug consumption and poor coping strategies and inadequate social support,” explains Daniel Trujillo, associate dean at the CDSA Center. “We are excited to be one of the first university departments to address both the predictors and effects of high-risk alcohol use.”
The Department of Education has designated CDSA’s program, Building Safer Fraternity Events (BSAFE), as a “promising” program, and grant funds will be used to modify the model and to evaluate it further. BSAFE is an effective three-program model consisting of student government and MIT-wide policies, preventive education through PartySafe Social Host/Server Training, and peer-based enforcement through the Risk Management Consultant program. Each program is focused on managing risks and reducing harms due to high-risk alcohol service among guests of fraternity men.
As part of the grant, the CDSA Center will be working with Division of Student Life staff and student leaders to develop an effective program for peer-based monitoring and enforcement at social events. Additionally, the CDSA Center will be assessing broader student life skills, such as conflict resolution, development of social support networks, and stress and coping, specifically to determine the relationship between these skill sets and participation in high-risk social events.
This is the second model program award for the CDSA; the center received a similar honor in 2004 for its Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program.
For more information about the CDSA, visit http://cdsa.mit.edu/.
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry personally called the CDSA to inform them of the award last week.
“For the past 10 years, the CDSA Center has been collecting student self-reported data that highlights the strong association between high-risk alcohol and other drug consumption and poor coping strategies and inadequate social support,” explains Daniel Trujillo, associate dean at the CDSA Center. “We are excited to be one of the first university departments to address both the predictors and effects of high-risk alcohol use.”
The Department of Education has designated CDSA’s program, Building Safer Fraternity Events (BSAFE), as a “promising” program, and grant funds will be used to modify the model and to evaluate it further. BSAFE is an effective three-program model consisting of student government and MIT-wide policies, preventive education through PartySafe Social Host/Server Training, and peer-based enforcement through the Risk Management Consultant program. Each program is focused on managing risks and reducing harms due to high-risk alcohol service among guests of fraternity men.
As part of the grant, the CDSA Center will be working with Division of Student Life staff and student leaders to develop an effective program for peer-based monitoring and enforcement at social events. Additionally, the CDSA Center will be assessing broader student life skills, such as conflict resolution, development of social support networks, and stress and coping, specifically to determine the relationship between these skill sets and participation in high-risk social events.
This is the second model program award for the CDSA; the center received a similar honor in 2004 for its Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program.
For more information about the CDSA, visit http://cdsa.mit.edu/.
