The "Winning Choices" program at the University of California, Riverside, is made possible through a three-year grant from the NCAA. Using the social-norm theory and an established and successful peer-education program, this project aims to attack the campus misperceptions about drinking behaviors and attitudes.

Widely becoming a popular and effective method of addressing campus alcohol and other health issues, the social-norm theory challenges the misperceptions that many students carry about the attitudes and behaviors of their peers. Several campuses have successfully used this theory to drastically reduce both perceptions and use patterns. The basic concept of this theory and methodology is that students often carry the misperception that "everybody drinks and gets wasted." This misperception then perpetuates itself through casual conversation and interaction between students.

For instance, at UC Riverside, our CORE Alcohol and Drug Survey, a widely used instrument on college and university campuses, showed that 85 percent of our students felt that the average UC Riverside student consumed alcohol at least once a week. However, the same study showed that fewer than 25 percent of students actually drank that often. Once the misperceptions are identified, they may be "attacked" through a highly visibly marketing campaign that "exploits" the opposite of what students believe, which validates more positive behaviors. Since much of our behavior often relates to our desire to "fit in," "be accepted" or "do what everyone else is doing," especially in the student world, the perception of what "everyone is doing" becomes important. Thus, it is equally important for us to point out and correct misperceptions.

The following are the key social-norm statistics that we chose for the basis of our project:

Seventy-nine percent of UC Riverside students consume two drinks or less per week, including 54 percent who consume none at all.

Seventy-seven percent of UC Riverside students consume alcohol less frequently than once per week, including 37 percent who drink once a year or never.

* Eighty percent of UC Riverside students have never driven under the influence.

Another key aspect of our project is the use of our "Golden ARCHES" (Advocating Responsible Choices through Health Education and Support) peer health education program as the primary "carrier" of the message. Many studies have shown the value and influence students have on their peers. Therefore, we used this established program, which includes Greeks, student-athletes and other students to disseminate the message under their name and logo. The CORE Alcohol and Drug Survey, which was conducted by our campus Substance Abuse Committee, always is cited as the source of the statistics. This provides additional credibility to the message.

We have used a variety of methods to get the message out. Examples of those efforts include half and full-page ads throughout the year in the campus newspaper with the social-norm messages, ads in athletics media guides/programs, and messages printed on plastic cups from our popular nonalcoholic beverage bar at concession offerings at athletics events.

Business cards also were printed with our logo and the drinking and driving statistic on one side, and phone numbers for local cab companies on the other. Those cards were tied to candy canes and delivered to every resident in the residence halls (2,500 students) reminding them not to drink and drive over the holidays.

Other items include frisbees with messages printed on them and given out in conjunction with awareness campaigns such as Alcohol Awareness Week and Safe Spring Break; keychains with the logo and the drinking and driving statistics printed on them and distributed for various campaigns and programs; and posters and flyers with printed messages throughout the campus community.

Through all of those efforts, we hope the message is being seen, and that attitudes and behaviors are beginning to change (though judging from the statistics, we were in pretty good shape to begin with). We are planning our next Core Survey next quarter as part of the campus' biannual cycle. We also will conduct the survey next year as part of the final evaluation of the grant.

While most campuses that have successfully used this model have shown changes over a several-year period, we hope to see at least hints of progress in the first couple of years. This grant has given us the means to lay the foundation for efforts that will continue for years to come. We look forward to seeing consistent, successful results over time.

Doug Everhart is the health educator and CHAMPS/Life Skills coordinator at the University of California, Riverside.