Pubdate: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 Source: Chronicle of Higher Education Section: International Page: A35 Contact: (International Editor) Website: http://chronicle.com Author: David Cohen Note: Copyright (c) 1998 by The Chronicle of Higher Education NEW ZEALAND URGES STUDENT DRINKERS TO 'JUST SAY FORGET IT' Universities use ad campaigns to combat a long-standing tradition in the country WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND It isn't often that a university's motto causes public-health officials to frown. So why does "A Degree in Distinction," the University of Otago's slogan, have that effect? Because Distinction happens to be the brand name of a beer that enjoys enormous popularity on campuses here and is a staple at binge-drinking parties. "In the minds of many young New Zealanders," says Karen Elliot, a health educator employed by the government to promote the responsible use of alcohol by students, "that kind of unfortunate verbal association is less humorous than it is a matter of fact." She says that at the University of Otago, as at most other New Zealand institutions, "the traditional student mindset has been that university is somewhere you go to party hard -- a place where young people learn to get drunk." Ms. Elliot, along with local police departments, campus administrators, student leaders, and the national Ministry of Health, has taken a pro-active stand to try to deal with the problem. Taking a cue from the American anti-drug campaign dubbed "Just Say No," they are urging student drinkers in New Zealand to "Just Say Forget It." There is a lot to forget. Since its colonial beginnings early in the last century, New Zealand has made much of its fervent attachment to beer. Among inhabitants of English-speaking countries, only Australians consume as much alcohol as New Zealanders, with young people imbibing a disproportionate share. While young men from ages 20 to 24 represent only 6 per cent of the population of New Zealand, they account for nearly 20 per cent of the country's alcohol consumption. When it comes to alcohol-related problems, young people also are overrepresented. Among industrialized nations, New Zealand has long held the dubious distinction of having the most-dangerous roads, but it has not been until relatively recently that policy makers here have connected that fact to the nation's drinking habits. And according to government statistics, the college-age New Zealander is responsible for 27 per cent of all deaths from motor-vehicle accidents, with alcohol a contributing factor in a majority of cases. Although the exact number of students represented in such statistics has yet to be officially quantified, "there's no doubt that they feature prominently in these and other areas of alcohol abuse," says Philip Parkinson, an official of the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand, a government agency. In addition to compiling statistics that many observers call long overdue, the government recently produced a series of provocative national advertisements aimed in large part at curbing the more lethal effects of campus drinking. In one advertisement, seen on national television and on the screens of most movie theaters, a group of obviously intoxicated young people is shown in a car being driven recklessly down a highway in the aftermath of a fraternity-style party. As the car hurtles toward what viewers expect will be its inevitable destruction, the screen fades to black and these words appear: "If you drink then drive, you're a bloody idiot!" The same message was used recently on billboard advertisements in the country's seven major university towns. Drunken driving is only one of the alcohol-related issues now facing health educators here. At the University of Auckland, New Zealand's largest higher-education institution, one student leader speaks of "trying to halt, and then reverse, the effects of 150 years of boozing." In the case of universities, that tradition includes binge-drinking parties that often lead to brawls or even campus riots, beer tents "of circus-like proportions," and indiscriminate sexual encounters. Mark O'Brien, president of the Auckland Students Association, says his organization and others like it are trying "to change the drinking habits of New Zealand of old -- the macho type of pioneer country that many of us grew up in -- to reflect the more sophisticated liberal culture that it has become. This isn't the 1970s anymore, when idiotic drink-related behavior was not only condoned but actively encouraged." Working with the local police department, Mr. O'Brien's group oversees the sale and distribution of alcohol at the two pubs on the Auckland campus, insuring that patrons are not served alcohol if they appear to be drunk or do not hold proper identification. The last requirement can be a vexing one, however, for New Zealand's legal drinking age of 20 is riddled with exceptions. An 18-year-old, for example, may purchase an alcoholic drink if he "intends" to eat a meal with it. Legislation now pending in parliament would end such anomalies, and the country's Health Minister, Bill English, recently warned New Zealand's liquor industry that it ran the risk of a regulatory crackdown if it did not promise not to make young people the targets of advertisements for some alcoholic sodas and frozen concoctions. "Other areas we're concentrating on are a bit more nebulous, but no less important," says Mr. O'Brien. For example, alcohol will soon be removed from campus meetings about student-governance issues and elections. "And where there are events involving drink, we at least try to arrange for transport home for drinkers," he adds. Most institutions are adopting regulations to prohibit the use of alcohol at such functions. Many campuses are also tightening rules on the sale and use of alcohol at concerts, sporting events, and social activities. On the national level, the New Zealand University Students Association, which oversees and coordinates the activities of regional student organizations, has taken on the issue of alcoholic-beverage producers' sponsorship of student-related events, a practice it would like to see regulated. In contrast to advertisements for tobacco, which are banned in all media here, New Zealand places no legal restrictions on the advertising and promotion of alcohol. "The alcohol industry, sometimes not so discreetly, pushes itself into many areas of student life," says David Choat, vice-president of the national student group. He works with campus affiliates of his association to develop policies that encourage "the enjoyment rather than the abuse" of alcohol, and that seek to achieve "a balance of sponsors for events and occasions, wherever that's practically possible." "Balance is the word," agrees Ms. Elliot, the health educator. "It isn't going to help students if we come across like a bunch of health Nazis. It's the minimization of harm, not total abstinence, that we're concentrating on promoting. "What we are all trying to do," she adds, "is be pro-active, so that, hopefully, in 10 years or so, 'A Degree in Distinction' will mean only what it says." - --- Checked-by: Melodi Cornett