Letter from the Chair

On behalf of the Inter-Association Task Force on Alcohol and Other Substance Abuse Issues, let me welcome you to another National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week! This year will certainly be the biggest and best yet as more than 3,000 colleges and universities in North America jointly recognize the importance of campus prevention efforts. It is also an important year for the Inter-Association Task Force as it celebrates its 20th Anniversary in providing leadership in higher education on alcohol and other substance abuse issues.

A 20th anniversary prompts us to reflect upon what has happened within the prevention field over the last two decades. In recent years, several new resources and reports have entered the higher education horizon that provide science based learning and recommendations for effective practices. Our NCAAW theme for this year of Kaleidoscope of Change - Patterns in Prevention highlights some of the methods and studies that encourage our efforts to reach our students in a meaningful way on these important health and safety topics. A new dawn is always breaking inside a kaleidoscope, tiny shards of colored glass spin round to create new and interesting patterns. Now is a good time to examine your past patterns and perhaps add a new twist or creative strategy to your comprehensive prevention program.

You have received this resource manual, year-round programming calendar, and poster and ad slick on our student writing contest, because you as a campus professional are in a position to make NCAAW a success on your campus! Now is the time to start planning who you will partner with to build something spectacular in your campus prevention program. And as you will see in reviewing the materials in this manual, one key element for success is to involve many different groups in the planning process for educational efforts. Our prevention programs need you to bring together a variety of student groups and offices to implement programs that will support student learning and support positive actions to keep our campuses safe. Gandhi said, We must be the change we wish to see in the world. We need you to lend your talents and lead the way in this effort.

Each year, we produce these resources in hopes that they will spark worthwhile ideas for your campus alcohol abuse prevention efforts. National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week is a very timely observance because it brings attention to important campus issues early in the academic year. But, its crucial to understand that prevention is not a one-week activity. The healthy choices your students make (or dont make) can be largely impacted by your commitment to yearround efforts.

In recognition of your outstanding year-long efforts, the Task Force awards cash prizes to outstanding campuses whose alcohol abuse prevention programming shows special innovation and effectiveness. Youll find brand new application criteria and guidelines at the end of this manual, and I hope youll consider applying. No matter how large or small your school, no matter how large or small your budget, your efforts are important and deserve recognition! You will also find the winners from the 2001-2002 award competition to gather some good ideas.

Another exciting element of NCAAW efforts is our student writing competition. This writing contest focuses on the positive influence college students can have on peer behavior. It is a great program to work in cooperation with journalism and writing faculty to promote NCAAW and reward the talented writers on your campus.

As you use these resources to assist you in the planning of your programming, your marketing, your public relations, and your evaluation, we hope that you will realize that only you can know what will work best on your campus.

The 22 higher-education organizations that make up the Task Force are dedicated to making our campuses safer and more enjoyable for everyone. From campus security, to fraternities and sororities, to athletics, to residence halls and peer education programs, we all have a vested interest in making National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week a memorable event in 2002.

- Dr. Edward Hammond
President, Fort Hays State University
NCAAW Chairperson