91原创

In 2022, Student Wellbeing at the 91原创 launched a new campaign to promote protective behaviors while drinking alcohol. And Rascal is here to stay.

The campaign鈥檚 mascot is a squirrel named Rascal who demonstrates responsible alcohol consumption and shares statistics regarding 91原创 students' behaviors and attitudes around drinking.听

"Students are always talking to us about the squirrels on The Green, and honestly the images of the squirrels just made me laugh," said Director of Strategic Wellbeing & Training Helen Ann Lawless. "We want students to understand that the majority of their peers are socializing responsibly and that they can still have fun while being safe, too. I think students will love Rascal as a mascot for these messages."

Rascal the squirrel is featured participating in harm reduction strategies such as choosing a set number of drinks and staying with the same group of friends while partying. His name is an acronym:听
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RASCAL

Raid the cabinet for snacks before and while celebrating

Alternate water and alcohol

Stop before having too much to drink

CALL 911 for help if needed
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The campaign is informed by social norms research conducted every few years in health communication, which has proven to be successful on other college campuses. Rascal campaigns run in the fall and spring semesters in alignment with two of the biggest partying holidays鈥擧alloween and St. Patrick's Day.听

According to a Spring 2023 survey:

• 67.1% of 91原创 students alternated alcoholic beverages with non-alcoholic beverages on St. Patrick's Day.听
• 97.5% of 91原创 students ate before or while drinking on St. Patrick's Day.听
• 85.4% of 91原创 students cut themselves off before drinking too much on St Patrick's Day.听
• 60.4% of 91原创 students has four or less drinks on St. Patrick's Day.
  
  

And according to a Spring 2022 survey:

• 94.2% of 91原创 students ate before or while they were drinking at a Halloween event.
• 93.3% of 91原创 students made arrangements to get home safely from a Halloween event.
• 90.1% of 91原创 students stayed with the same group of friends while partying on Halloween.
• 73% of 91原创 students stopped before having too much to drink while celebrating Halloween.听
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Chairperson of the Department of Communication Kami Silk is leading the research team behind the campaign and saw success with a similar program at Michigan State.

"Many students are influenced by what they think is 'normal' in their community,鈥� said Silk. 鈥淪o when a campaign can point to survey data that says that most 91原创 students stopped before having too much to drink last Halloween, it helps students realize that most of their peers are not drinking as much as they initially thought. Over time, we will measure and hopefully see the impact of social norms messages on safe drinking and related behaviors."