Photo illustration by Matt Weir / The Collegian

As students stroll through campus they are bombarded with numerous flyers and posters, vying to catch the wandering student̢۪s attention. The posters regarding student̢۪s alcohol use certainly aim to grasp student interest.

The posters, which proclaim the moderate to nonexistent alcohol practices of California State University, Fresno students, are funded through various grants awarded to the school in recent years to educate students about alcohol use.

On Sept. 23 CSU trustees were presented with CSU̢۪s Alcohol Policies and Prevention fourth biennial report. The results from the report indicated that, in general, student alcohol abuse such as drinking and driving decreased as student awareness of the risks associated with alcohol consumption increased.

“In 2001, the CSU board of trustees passed an alcohol policy for the entire system,â€Â said Dr. Paul M. Oliaro, vice president for Students Affairs and chair of the campus Alcohol Safety Council. “It was the first system in the country that had a policy which was designed to be administered to all campuses. There were several components all designed to create an environment which would address the use of alcohol and reduce the problems related to alcohol misuse.â€Â

Part of the policy requires that every two years CSU campuses report to trustees and highlight the alcohol education initiatives it̢۪s implemented.

“What I think programs like this do are one, keep the issue of responsible use of alcohol in front of students in a variety of ways. Secondly, maybe most importantly, programs like this reinforce student’s very moderate and responsible behavior because they know that’s the norm,â€Â Oliaro said.

Some students may doubt the accuracy of the facts and percentages on the posters and how accurate it correlates with actual student behavior.

Oliaro explained the statistics are based on surveys, which were given to students over the past seven years, and are used to generalize student̢۪s overall alcohol use. The survey has been administered to as little as 1,500 students to as many as 3,800 students. The average response rate has been about 30 percent or more, which are fairly good response rates, he said.

“For a stratified random sample, you don’t need many to generalize it to the whole population even if you just take a small sample,â€Â Oliaro said. “The data has been pretty consistent over time.â€Â

Kathy Yarmo, coordinator of health promotion and wellness services for the university health and psychological Services, said the posters are all initiatives paid for by a social norms grant. The signs are generated to show students what activities their peers engage in.

“I would have to say it’s a multitude of things that we do on campus to put this information out there for students.â€Â Yarmo said, “We’re interjecting this type of information making sure that students know the realities of student behavior in a fun, interactive sort of way.â€Â

Graphic design major Carlos Garcia, said the posters around campus caught his attention but isn̢۪t sold on the accuracy of the surveys.

“Some students probably don’t give the whole truth,â€Â he said. “They might not consider one or two drinks as drinking and driving.â€Â

Garcia said three or more of his friends have a DUI, which make the consequences associated with alcohol very much a reality to him. The programs and information regarding alcohol are important for students to be aware of.

The third week in October is the National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, which Fresno State celebrates by putting on an annual event. With various themes throughout the years, this year̢۪s theme is Fall Harvest Festival.

The atmosphere aims to be an interactive way to educate students about different areas of wellness, including alcohol safety. The event will be host to various games such as alcohol jeopardy and will serve “mocktailsâ€Â, non-alcoholic beverages. It hopes to show that fun and alcohol do not go hand in hand.

“I think that’s where the social norms theory comes in is that if you perceive your peers are acting in one way, it’s kind of like that peer pressure,â€Â said graduate student Elizabeth Echeveste, student coordinator for the social norms grants and co-chair of the alcohol safety student subcommittee. “It’s the idea that if we change the misconception, then hopefully the behaviors will follow suit.â€Â

The Fall Harvest Festival is on Wednesday, Oct. 21 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. by the fountain, located across from the Kennel Bookstore.