The third and final installment of a $2-million grant from the California State University alcohol and traffic grant has come to a close.

The grants, from the California Office of Traffic Safety, provided support for eight CSU campuses to reduce alcohol abuse, alcohol-related vehicle accidents and alcohol-related misconduct among college students.

Serving as the grant’s headquarters, California State University, Fresno’s Health and Psychological Services worked on the latest grant with Channel Islands, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Cal Maritime, Northridge, San Francisco and San Jose campuses on alcohol safety programs, such as eCHUG (an online personal drinking assessment program), and peer-to-peer education and counseling. Partnerships also were established with local law enforcement to conduct DUI checkpoints around the campuses.

“This is the culmination of a seven-year partnership between the CSU and the Office of Traffic Safety that has provided support for alcohol education and improved traffic safety on all 23 of the CSU campuses,” said Dr. Paul Oliaro, Fresno State vice president for Student Affairs.

The most recent grant program had two goals, both to be accomplished by Sept. 30, 2009:

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To reduce the incidence of driving after consuming alcohol by 18- 25-year-old CSU students 5 percent from each campus’ 2005 base year total; and

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To reduce the incidence of alcohol-related misconduct by CSU students by 5 percent from each campus’ 2007 base year total.

Through on campus events, partnerships with Fresno Police, CHP and student groups, Fresno State met both goals.

“Fresno State is proud of the role we have played in making this funding available to all 23 campuses of the CSU over the past 7 years to help them be successful in implementing the CSU alcohol policy,” Dr. John Welty said.

For its part of the grant, Fresno State worked with fraternities on implementing programs such as Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPS) on campus. TIPS is a skills-based training program to help prevent intoxication, drunken driving and underage drinking by teaching alcohol servers and consumers how to recognize when a harmful or deadly situation could arise, as well as how to defuse alcohol-related situations.

The grant also allowed campuses to hold alcohol awareness or alcohol free events. Fresno State offered students a chance to have fun and participate at events such as the Wicked Wellness Carnival in fall 2008 and the Spring Break Extravaganza in 2009. Both events centered on alcohol safety and drunken driving prevention. Students at the events also were able to experience the California Highway Patrol’s SIDNE, a drunken driving simulator.

In addition to events and training sessions, Fresno State implemented peer-to-peer alcohol education and counseling sessions. Across the eight universities, pledges and alcohol safety and awareness projects were implemented to raise awareness and to lower the number of alcohol-related incidents on their campuses.

Since the initial grant’s 2002 approval, Fresno State has managed and served as headquarters for all three grants.

“This grant has been a great example of the power of partnership between the CSU and the Office of Traffic Safety to reduce campus alcohol problems and reduce alcohol-related traffic incidents,” Oliaro said.

For more information on the grant and programs, contact Health and Psychological Services at 559.278.2734.