Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Binge Drinking-based Harm Reduction Programs at the University of Wyoming, An

Currently, 44% of college students in the United States binge drink. This number has remained steady for the past 25 years. Because of the social issue of binge drinking, colleges have created and implemented countless drinking prevention, harm reduction, and abstention programs for students across the country. The University of Wyoming (UW) has specifically created harm reduction programs to combat binge drinking problems, as the University's student population currently holds the same binge drinking rate as the national average. These programs include the campus coalition the A-Team, the free taxi service SafeRide, free legal service through the Students' Attorney Program, a required educational test about alcohol behaviors AlcoholEdu, and the counseling and intervention program AWARE. Qualitative research was conducted on the effectiveness of these programs' attempt at lowering binge drinking rates and the negative behaviors associated with binge drinking through surveying UW students and interviewing UW staff members in charge of the harm reduction programs. Results showed a broad variation of effectiveness in UW's programs. Staff member interviews also detailed a variety of opinions on the effectiveness of programs, as well as the work still needed to be done on the UW campus, in regards to lowering drinking rates.