Dear Providence College Parents,

Just a short time ago, you sent your daughter or son to Providence College to begin or continue a transforming educational experience. We deeply appreciate the trust you have placed in us. The health and well-being of your child is critical to his or her success as a student. That is why we take the issue of alcohol abuse so seriously at Providence College.

In April, I wrote to all Providence College parents to advise them about the results of a year-long study focusing on campus culture that was conducted by the College's Committee on Campus Culture, Conduct, and Civility. Our study showed that Providence College has a serious alcohol abuse problem among its students. The consequences of this abuse hurt our students and our community: students have memory problems, miss classes, and fall behind in their work. Friends are battered, and the number of sexual assaults rises. Property is damaged, laws are flouted, and the aspirations of an entire community are thwarted. Heavy drinking is also a health issue - one that often remains with students well after graduation.

The causes of such alcohol abuse are manifold. Providence meets many of the criteria that research suggests are associated with higher rates of binge drinking: our location in the Northeast, our co-mingling of legal and underage students in residence halls, our lack of a sufficiently diverse campus, and our prominent athletic program. Additionally, alcohol is inexpensive and readily available in the area - there are over 20 establishments selling or serving liquor within a mile radius of the College.

Following public release of that report, we initiated a campus-wide conversation regarding our culture. Consultations or interviews were held with 675 individuals. These occurred during two fora open to the entire campus community and through meetings with 21 student groups and 16 faculty, staff, and administrative units. Nearly 1,600 individuals visited an on-line forum hosted on the College's ANGEL learning site.

Based on this comprehensive and enlightening conversation, the committee issued a final report that included more than 60 recommendations designed to provide solutions that effectively address the problem. You can view a copy of the report on the College's Web site at www.providence.edu/alcoholabuse2. Several of these practices and policies are in place now as the academic year begins. Others will be phased in over the next four years as the necessary planning, coordination, and resources come to fruition.

We have hired a new Dean of Judicial Affairs (read the announcement here) and have begun collaborating with other colleges and universities in Rhode Island to reduce the abuse of alcohol. A review of our current disciplinary policies is under way, as is the development of a comprehensive policy on hazing. We have extended the hours at key campus facilities such as the library and Concannon Fitness Center, on weeknights and weekends. Effective this semester, we will set new limits on the kinds and number of containers of alcohol allowed in the on-campus rooms of students of legal drinking age.

During this first semester, we also will move towards scheduling more recreational and non-alcohol social events - including popular intramural sports games and PC After Hours programming - on Friday and Saturday nights. We have implemented a new serving policy that requires two forms of identification for the purchase of alcohol at McPhail's, our on-campus entertainment facility, and all of the servers in that venue recently completed training on serving alcohol responsibly.

We will educate student leaders about their responsibility as role models for other students and establish a campus collaborative focused on creating and sustaining non-alcohol social, educational, and service programming. Subcommittees on Alcohol, Peer Education, Communications and Advertising, Assessment, and Residence Life will conduct additional, focused research into specific aspects of the alcohol abuse problem and develop recommendations for effective strategies and solutions.

By next summer, we plan to begin assessing incoming students' alcohol-related beliefs and behaviors in order to develop specific and targeted education and assistance for those who are determined to be at risk. We are encouraged to realize that through assessment and intervention the College can provide potentially life-changing aid to students who come to us already predisposed to alcohol abuse.

I often have noted that before it was the name of a city or this particular College, providence referred to God's loving plan that orders all things to the good. This includes membership in the Providence College community. Therefore, and as the final report notes, "how members of the College community act towards one another, the respect that is accorded each person, and the responsibility we assume for the welfare of the community all become a measure of the extent to which we have realized God's loving plan for us."

What distinguishes Providence College is not the alcohol problem here, which is common to many colleges and universities, nor the specific remedies we are proposing, many of which are shared with peer institutions. What distinguishes us is our understanding of why the problem must be addressed and our commitment to doing so.

We will work assiduously to ensure that fewer students drink abusively, and among those who do, that fewer are at risk for the more serious consequences that follow. Our goal is to ensure that within several years' time, excessive drinking will no longer be considered desirable, that students will engage their studies with greater dedication, and that their experience with one another will be broader, richer, and more respectful.

The measure of our success should not be only the immediate changes that we pray will be supported by our College and external communities, but whether, in time, we have effected a positive and permanent change among our students in their aspirations and their experience of Providence College. May God, in His loving providence, grant us the strength and wisdom we need to accomplish this work.

Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P.