{"71405":{"#nid":"71405","#data":{"type":"news","title":"GT SMART Moves Beyond the Institute","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs the GT SMART (Students Managing Alcohol Risk at Tech) program completes its final year, director Marsha Brinkley stays busy, gearing up for several remaining initiatives. Her two main objectives remain starting up the parental outreach program and finding \u0027institutional homes\u0027 for GT SMART\u0027s successful initiatives.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETech is one of 10 campuses selected to participate in the American Medical Association-managed A Matter of Degree (AMOD) project, funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The goal is to develop a customizable, universally applicable model for altering the environment to modify negative behaviors, as well as educating both the campus and surrounding community on the harms caused by these behaviors. This particular program targets underage and high-risk alcohol consumption. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Social norming works through advertising, messages and programs to reach individuals and groups,\u0022 Brinkley said. \u0022The AMOD project researched the development and utilization of environmental changes to modify negative behaviors. Examples would include legislative changes, police enforcement and changes in the advertising messages companies send regarding alcohol products.\u0022 \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf the 10 campuses chosen, Tech is the only urban-area community. \u0022As such, we had very different challenges,\u0022 Brinkley said. And as one of the last campuses to join the program (in 1999), Tech is one of the last still going. The AMOD plan was originally five years in length, but a four-year extension was granted in 2004. Funding supports the current program until Aug. 31.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022For the first three years, everything was focused on campus activities,\u0022 Brinkley said. To meet the grant\u0027s requirements of engaging the community, GT SMART in 2002 conducted a quality-of-life survey on 600 Atlanta residents. The purpose was to determine what type of interventions would best address the community\u0027s concerns. Another aspect of the intervention development process included the formation of committees and task forces, which included civic and business leaders, as well as Tech faculty, staff and students.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese committees worked with elected officials to review and revise some of the local ordinances. And as community members learned of some business owners\u0027 practices, changes to and enforcement of laws governing alcohol sales were welcomed.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOther established outreach programs include free online alcohol server training and an anonymous tip line for people to report businesses suspected of operating outside the law, either by selling to minors or those already intoxicated.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0022While 911 is not always perceived as being anonymous, our tip line is,\u0022 she says. \u0022At the beep, callers are instructed to give the name of the business, what illegal activity is suspected and the business location. Callers are reminded that they need not give their names. Information is then sent to the police, and is investigated at the discretion of the police department.\u0022 In the tip line\u0027s first year, Atlanta Police issued a record number of non-compliance tickets. Brinkley credits Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington with putting more officers into the alcohol compliance unit. As businesses took the situation seriously, the number of citations have since tapered off.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe free online program-Responsible Alcohol Sales \u0026amp; Server Training (RASS)-was developed for alcohol licensees and their employees. Brinkley says the module is the first online, interactive program in the state. Successful completion of RASS, which takes roughly two hours overall, includes two tests. \u0022If you don\u0027t pass, you can take [them] again-but the questions change,\u0022 Brinkley said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThrough data gathered in user surveys, Brinkley says the program \u0027has proven to be a valuable tool for learning state laws and empowering people to do their jobs well.\u0027 When successfully completed, the course provides a certificate, which, in turn, makes employees more marketable.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn fall 2007, Athens\/Clarke County mandated alcohol server training, and the chief of police approved the RASS program. Brinkley says RASS is now in 18 counties and 223 establishments, and more than 2,300 people in the alcohol-service industry have completed the program.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFall semester also kicked off the parent outreach initiative with the start of GT SMART\u0027s lecture series. In the first, the speaker made a presentation on pharmacology and drinking, as parents-and students-may not be aware of medicinal interaction with alcohol.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn Jan. 31, Texans Standing Tall Executive Director Nicole Holt presents \u0027Alcohol Marketing and Youth\u0027 showing how ads and TV spots are aimed at young people. \u0022We, as adults, miss these messages,\u0022 Brinkley said. GT SMART is working on getting the rights to podcast this presentation to reach parents. \u0022Our students come from so many states, not to mention countries.\u0022 In February, there will be a presentation of a program made possible by The Sam Spady Foundation, which tells the story of Spady, a 19-year-old college student who died of alcohol poisoning. (Because of rights issues, this presentation will not be podcast.) All presentations are open to the public.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe full parental outreach initiative, including an online component, is still under development. Tech is partnering with the University of Minnesota to survey incoming students\u0027 parents on their beliefs about students\u0027 attitudes toward alcohol. In 2006, Tech began using AlcholEdu to collect data from incoming freshmen about their attitudes toward alcohol, which will be paired with the parents\u0027 information.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBrinkley says that parents\u0027 experiences with alcohol in college is very different from today. \u0022[The thought is] they did it, and they turned out all right,\u0022 she said. \u0022But it\u0027s a much more dangerous world than when they were in college,\u0022 she said, referring to date-rape drugs and other hazards confronting college students today.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne overarching challenge of GT SMART has been in overcoming its perception. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We push responsibility [for those of legal age], not temperance,\u0022 Brinkley said. \u0022We do stress not drinking until it\u0027s legal. We\u0027re not here for a \u0027dry\u0027 campus or taking away fun. We are here to promote safety and responsibility.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0022Nobody seems to teach young people how to safely drink when they\u0027re old enough,\u0027 she said. The outreach and other presentations are designed to teach parents how to approach the subject with their kids. \u0022Every year, we have several students who need medical attention [because of drinking],\u0022 she said. \u0022The past few years, we have received more calls for help, so we feel our message is getting out.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile these new initiatives are important, they are only one priority for Brinkley as the program winds down. \u0022Right now we\u0027re working to institutionalize programs that have been successful,\u0022 Brinkley said, specifically mentioning the RASS, tip-line and student programs. \u0022We\u0027re finding \u0027homes\u0027 for them, either at Tech or off-campus.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome are garnering international attention from other educational institutions from around the globe. Last August, Brinkley presented \u0027Effective Strategies to Reduce High-Risk Drinking Among College Students and Residents in an Urban Environment\u0027 as a case study during a round table conference at the University of Oxford. This opportunity, she said, came out of an outreach with the president of the University of Dublin. \u0022We\u0027re seeing that what we\u0027ve produced can be initiated in other countries,\u0022 she said. Her case study will be published by the Oxford University Press.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPrior to Brinkley\u0027s arrival at Tech in 2002, she worked for Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell\u0027s office, where-among her other duties-she was named the city\u0027s liaison to the program after its inception. GT SMART is part of the Office of the Dean of Students. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I think the main lessons learned from developing the model were [along with] the components of information and education, the two keys are legislation and enforcement,\u0022 Brinkley said. \u0022If you don\u0027t have both, things won\u0027t change.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"In the final year of funding, GT SMART director Marsha Brinkley works to ensure the program\u0027s successful initiatives continue to aid and educate the community.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Alcohol-education program targets the community"}],"uid":"27191","created_gmt":"2008-01-31 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:10","author":"Robert Nesmith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2008-02-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2008-02-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"71406":{"id":"71406","type":"image","title":"GT SMART director Marsha Brinkley","body":null,"created":"1449177376","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:16:16","changed":"1475894634","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:54"}},"media_ids":["71406"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.gtsmart.gatech.edu\/","title":"GT SMART"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2211","name":"alcohol education"},{"id":"1454","name":"GT Smart"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003ERobert Nesmith\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=wnesmith3\u0022\u003EContact Robert Nesmith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["robert.nesmith@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}