LEGACIES OF LIFE: Creating Proactive Norms through Healthy Transitions to College

1. LEGACIES OF LIFE:Creating Proactive Norms through Healthy Transitions to College

2. Presented By: David S. Anderson, Ph.D.Associate Professor Jennifer Maltby Program Coordinator GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITYGraduate School of EducationDepartment of Health, Fitness and Recreation ResourcesCenter for the Advancement of Public Health

3. In Loving Memory Of:Sally G. ColemanJuly 5, 1941 – October 21, 1999 We are all treasures, enduring survivors, bright, beautiful, and full of goodness……..We are more than we imagine. We are connected through our love and tears to one another. We are all equal, and worthy of love, freedom and fellowship. We are beautiful at this moment, exactly as we are today. From Sally’s book Seasons of the Spirit

4. We know . . . . . . alcohol contributes to damage and crime on college campuses.

5. We know . . . Alcohol's Involvement With Campus Problems College Alcohol Survey: 2000

6. We know . . . Alcohol's Involvement In Personal Behaviors College Alcohol Survey: 2000

7. We know . . . . . . alcohol use negatively impacts academic performance.

8. We know . . . Average Number Of Drinks Per Week By Grade Point Average National Core Survey: 1996

9. We know . . . Alcohol's Involvement In Academic Issues College Alcohol Survey: 2000

10. We know . . . . . . students overestimate the level of alcohol and other drug use by their peers.

11. We know . . . Actual and Perceived Annual Alcohol Use: Virginia Colleges/Universities Virginia Core Survey: 2000

12. We know . . . . . . comprehensive and planful approaches are stressed and widely used.

13. We Know…. Task Force Planner Groups • Campus Leadership • Coordinator • Health and Counseling • Student Life • Police and Security • Faculty • Residence Life • Student Government • Student Groups • Community

14. We Know…. Task Force Planner Components • Policies & Implementation • Curriculum • Awareness & Information • Support & Intervention • Enforcement • Assessment & Evaluation • Training • Staffing & Resources

15. We Know…. www.promprac.gmu.edu

16. We know . . . . . . heavier alcohol use is relatively resistant to change.

17. We know . . . College Student Drinking Patterns Monitoring the Future

18. We know . . . Campus Effort and Heavier Use Patterns Level of Effort Monitoring the Future

19. We know . . . . . . a national conference was held in 1995 to identify new strategies to better address drug and alcohol abuse.

20. We know . . . The Challenge 2000 conference, convened at the University of Notre Dame, engaged 200 professionals in an intensive process. Vision groups of 8-10 members identified meaningful approaches for healthier campuses. Emerging from this conference were seven life health principles.

21. SERVICE NATURE COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS SELF-CARE VALUES OPTIMISM We know…

22. “For every problem, there is one solution which is simple, neat and wrong.” Henry Louis Mencken

23. Healthy Expectations The overall purpose of Healthy Expectations is to alter the campus environment through extensive attention to first year students prior to and during their first year in college.

24. Healthy Expectations Healthy Expectations focuses on the quality of the campus environment through a wide range of strategies and philosophies.

25. Healthy Expectations This innovative initiative is organized around six frameworks or constructs:

26. Healthy Expectations • Audience • Means • Modes • Focus • Sponsorship • Theoretical Foundations

27. Audience • Students during their first year • at GMU • GMU first year students, prior • to their matriculation to campus • Local high school seniors

28. Means

29. Modes • Technology • Email • Website • OptionFinder • Traditional

30. Focus • Fall Freshmen Survey • Parent Survey at Orientation • Spring Campus Survey

31. Sponsorship • Student Affairs • Academic Life

32. Theoretical Foundation I Correct Misperceptions of Peer Alcohol and Other Drug Use

33. Theoretical Foundation I

34. Life-Health Pyramid Theoretical Foundation II Address the Underlying Needs of Students

35. We believe that human beings are basically good and that, despite setbacks, our history is on a path of progress and promise. Optimism

36. We believe that values are at the core of self and community and are essential to any meaningful change. Values OPTIMISM

37. We believe that an ethic of balanced self-care is fundamental to flourishing as a human being in the world community. Self-care VALUES OPTIMISM

38. We believe that learning how to be in working relationships is an essential developmental task for young adults. Relationships VALUES SELF-CARE OPTIMISM

39. Community RELATIONSHIPS SELF-CARE VALUES OPTIMISM We believe that creating a culture of community through rituals, symbols, traditions, and heroes is needed to insure quality educational experiences.

40. Nature COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS SELF-CARE VALUES OPTIMISM We believe that the connection of the biological, natural being to the larger planetary system is essential and insures the health of the planet and our well-being, including our ultimate spiritual survival.

41. We believe that service is indispensable in engaging people in authentic and meaningful learning experiences and in creating positive social change. NATURE COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS SELF-CARE VALUES OPTIMISM Service

42. SERVICE NATURE COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS SELF-CARE VALUES OPTIMISM Theoretical Foundation II

43. Existing Campus-based Approaches • Residence Life • Orientation • University 100 • Data collection

44. Residence Life • RA Training and Fair • Discussion Series • Bulletin Boards • Honors Banquet

45. Promoting Healthy Transitions to College

46. Sample Discussion Series Handout OPTIMISM Identify at least 5 people that you consider to be role models. These may be people you know (friends or family) or people you don’t know (celebrities, politicians). What characteristics of each person’s attitude do you want to include in your life? Be specific. Please rate each person’s optimism on a 5-point scale (5 being very optimistic).

47. istening nergy rowth ction ompassion es! LEGACY Some of the most important decisions in life are made by default because people do not realize their options. Instead of directing life they often passively allow life to happen to them by not planning and acting. They may not learn to consider alternatives and to look ahead to see where their current behavior may lead them. Later in life, they may find themselves shipwrecked or becalmed in stagnant waters and look back with regret, “If only I had known…” Hindsight is often very clear, but it is always an afterthought. Take time now to engage in this important planning and visioning. Think about how to live a healthy and fulfilling life, how to recognize options, make confident decisions, and overcome obstacles. From Charting Your Course: A Lifelong Guide to Health and Compassion Sally Coleman and David Anderson University of Notre Dame Press, 1998 www.caph.gmu.edu Center for the Advancement of Public Health Department of Health, Fitness & Recreation Resources Graduate School of Education Honors Banquet

48. Orientation • Orientation Leader Training • Parent Orientation

49. Promoting Healthy Transitions to College

50. The Issue or Concern Students typically overestimate the level of drug and alcohol use by their peers; they think “everyone is doing it.” This tends to result in higher use patterns to keep up with the “imaginary peer.”