1. Walk Your Talk
Jackie Daniels, MSW, LCSW
Office of Alternative Screening and
Intervention Services (OASIS)
2. Last Friday Night
Indiana University Promise
I promise that:
I will be ethical in my academic work.
I will take personal responsibility for what I say and do.
I will respect the dignity of others, treating them
with civility and understanding.
3. Delta Upsilon
Building “Better” Men
The Promotion of Friendship
The Development of Character
The Diffusion of Liberal Culture
The Advancement of Justice
North America’s Oldest Fraternity & Largest Non-
Secret Fraternity
12. Fact or Myth?
“So what if I am
19? The drinking
age is stupid. My
parents let me
drink at home. I
only drink in my
fraternity. I’m
safe. PLUS, we
have sober
drivers! “
Introduction to office, self and journey from college to return as an employee
This is not a lecture on alcohol. I will ask hard questions and hopefully make you defensive. If you have a strong reaction to something, the question I want you to ask yourself is, “why am I feeling this way?”Think of IU as a whole, your organization within that whole, and yourself. What does the University value? What does your organization value? What do you value? How do you “walk your talk” (i.e. live your values?) Do you value the same thing Monday morning that you value on a Friday night?Higher Education is not just a step after High School and a step towards a degree. “Higher” Education is meant to be:A transformative period, developmental stage for students- integrating experiences with education (what happens is as important as what you learn)To learn, you must be ready to learn (What gets in the way of learning?)There must be a culture change in order for this learning to happen. You cannot expect to graduate different than the person who entered IU if it doesn’t change. Learning must be the priority. That doesn’t mean we expect you to be bored or boring. We have to change the traditions of IU, not just the culture.
When you think of yourself in your organization, did you think of your values or pillars? There is a lot to be proud of and take advantage of in this organization…What do you get being a member of DU? What can you give back?
Brian Macken- death at PSK 2011Jarrod Polston- death at BSU (IU Student) 2010Lauren Spierer- missing since June 3, 2011Examples:Never got the chance to develop to their full potentialDrinking and drugs got in the way of their development and maturationDrinking and drugs affects a community entirely
Stereotypical image of an alcoholic….Drinking is bigger than a perceived problem of use, abuse and addiction. How much of what you perceive to be true about alcohol/drug use is true?What’s the big deal?Reference the “Lasting Hangover…” I hear all the time that students want to live their time in college to the fullest, and then will *POOF* become mature and responsible members of the workforce. HOW? What skills are you learning? How do you have relationships? How do you deal with awkwardness? If you think you “can” do life without alcohol, do it NOW.Redefine traditions and the culture you perpetuate (not all). Whether or not you want to be, you are responsible for the culture at this school.
Are you happy with the perception of IU as a party school? What else is IU known for? Are you happy with the perception of the Greek system? What can you do about it? How did we get our reputation?Compartmentalization- Are your values on Monday morning the same as your Friday night values?Why did you join a fraternity?Are you familiar with the policies regarding alcohol and drugs on campus? The judicial process?
What is the definition of control? Restrain, regulate, command, direct, ruleWhat determines control when you drink?Socially= Organization, environment, company (family, friends), event, etcPhysiology= Blood alcohol levels, medication, body mass, gender, food consumed, other drugs consumedCognitive (mental and intellectual)= psychological and physiological changes. Expectations. Still in control? Predictable or not?Have you ever done something that was totally out of character for you? Did you have to justify it?What is the best way to maintain control when drinking?Beer Goggles: In recent study published in the journal “Alcohol,” scientists explain how this phenomenon works. When intoxicated, your perception of symmetry is distorted…Alcohol myopia (NEARSIGHTEDNESS)According to a growing body of evidence collected over the last three or more decades, people's Jekyll and Hyde behavior while drinking can be understood by a simple idea which has some intriguing ramifications.The alcohol myopia model says that drink makes our attentional system short-sighted and the more we drink, the more short-sighted it becomes. With more alcohol our brains become less and less able to process peripheral cues and more focused on what is right in front of us. It's this balance between what is right in front of us and what we don't notice around the edges that determines how alcohol affects us in different situations.Here are a few effects which imbibers will recognize immediately:An ego boost: when people drink, they often feel better about themselves. This may be because the attentional short-sightedness induced by alcohol makes all our shortcomings float away and so we feel closer to our ideal selves. This is probably one of the reasons it is so potentially addictive, it is self-actualization in bottle form. Real worries can get worse: if we've had a bad day and we sit quietly with a drink, alcohol can make it worse because all the peripheral cues which are potential distractors are cut out and all we see are our problems.Pleasure in the moment: the flip-side of this attentional focus is that if, while drinking, we are doing something enjoyable, we find it easier to ignore any nagging doubts or stray worries wandering through our minds. We can be totally in the moment listening to music, watching sports or talking with a good friend. We can also be focused very intently on the person who catches our sexual eye.In the zone: it's even possible that for some types of task it may increase performance as we let go of our insecurities. Perhaps that's why so many writers wrote with a glass of whiskey at their side.
Safer in what sense? Legally?Legal ramifications for alcohol:Illegal under the age of 21 to possess, consume alcohol, therefore making it illegal to drive after drinkingOver 21 y/o, legal limit is .08. Is it safe to drive at .04? How do you know? Cognitive deficit at .02 and on, physical deficits early as wellDUI, OWI, etc. Loss of license, higher insurance, legal record, court costs, reputation diminshedLegal ramifications for driving after smoking pot:Under IC 9-30-5-1, a person who operates a vehicle under the influence of any Schedule I, II substance (listed in IC 35-48-2) or it’s metabolite commits and Class C Misdemeanor. The marijuana metabolite is THC. To walk or not: Calculated vs. perceived risk
One message I want you to hear: TOLERANCE is not a good thing.What is it?There are several types of tolerance, but let’s talk about biology and what tolerance means.How many of you have an alcoholic parent? How many of you have alcoholic fathers, or fathers that have a high tolerance?Tolerance can be genetically pre-determined. As tolerance increases, you find that you can drink more and feel the effects less. People with alcoholism also experience reverse tolerance because their liver lacks the ability it once had to metabolize alcohol correctly, and they don’t need to drink as much to feel it. In order to decrease your tolerance so you can respond normally to alcohol, you need to allow your body to heal. Liver damage can be caused after one night of binge drinking, and it needs to rest! Even non-alcoholics can experience acute pancreatitis.
Let’s consider some statistics:Between 1 and 4 students will experience a sexual assault in college. Women in college are more at risk than the population as a whole. 90% of these women know their assailant.Why? 75% of men and 55% of women in a sexual assault have been drinking or using drugs.Male victims are 5% of reported assaults. 2012: the Justice Department released a new definition of rape that includes men…”Any kind of nonconsensual penetration, no matter the gender of the attacker or victim will constitute rape.”Sex and Alcohol:How do you know that you have consent to embark on a sexual mission?How do you define sex? Good sex?Intimacy?Passion, love and “relationship?”What are your boundaries? How do you show a potential mate that you respect them and their wishes? How might alcohol change you in a sexual situation?
Test your knowledge: What is the most commonly abused substance in the USA? Caffeine…Recent research indicates that there is a low level of awareness among undergraduate college students of the real medical risks assiociated with unsupervised use of rx drugs.Drugs are controlled via prescription if they are: not proven safe for self-medication (i.e. Tylenol, Advil) and intended to treat ailments that require supervision by a professional.What is the difference between prescription usage of a medicine (taken as directed for indicated/diagnosed cause) and non-medical prescription drug use (NMPDU- when it is used for something other than it’s intended purpose, by someone other than the intended recipient, in a dosage other than prescribed). Is one better than the other? Simply because a Dr. prescribes it, does that mean it’s safe? Are you an informed consumer? Do you read the insert with medications? This includes side effects, other drug interactions, allergy warnings, etc. Do you tell your Dr. about your alcohol consumption? Do you ask questions?Growing trend…15 million Americans use prescription drugs or non-medical useMost abused are in 3 classes: most common= opioids or analgesics (lortab, hydrocodone, codeine, methadone, oxycontin, etc)…HEROINCNS stimulants=Adderall, diet pills, ephedrineCNS depressants=klonopin, ambien, xanax
Why do organizations in the Greek system have risk management policies?What is hazing? How do you draw the line between the “sober pledge drivers” and forcing people to drink? Lead into Bystander Intervention
How do you know someone has crossed the line from “social” drinking into abusive or dependent drinking?You know the outward signs, but what happens if someone is changing and you don’t know? How do you stop that from happening?Know your “friends” and their risk factors. Say something.
Don’t just stand there, do something!Tiananmen Square 1989:After 7 weeks of protesting by mostly college students, the Chinese government gave notice to protestors that they were to break up their protests to avoid “social chaos.” They were protesting the Chinese’ government failing to create more democratic reform. The result was the shooting violence of more than 200 protestors when they refused to leave. This man, seen in front of the Chinese tanks, stood there refusing to move. The tanks tried to move around him, but he moved in front of them. Then he climbed on top of the tank and a commander inside opened the hatch. The conversation is still unknown, but the man got down and refused to move. How many of you would give your lives for your family or friends? How about a cause you believe in? What causes do you believe in?What does this have to do with bystander intervention? Imagine being with a friend who you know is going to do something that is potentially harmful for them or someone around them (maybe you?). What do you do? What do you say? Why or why not? What would it take for you to say something? And how do you determine what is worth of saying something about? ARE YOU A SHEEP? Hyperlink in title to Step Up awareness video on Step Up Website
Hindsight is 20/20What do you need courage for in college?Where do you go from here? Can you make the tough decisions for yourself? Your friends, your career as a student?