Template Letter

Inside Address

Date

Senator’s address

Dear,

I write to you out of concern for the impact that alcohol and other drug use has on the health and safety of college students in the United States, who comprise approximately one third of the 18-25 year old population (2007 US Census), and who live in the concentrated domains of our campuses .  Data indicate:

·         A slight increase in the number of 18-25 year olds who drink five or more drinks at one setting from 40.9% in 2002 to 41% in 2008 while 12-17 year olds saw a decrease from 10.7 to 8.8% in the same time period. (2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health)

·         College students had a significantly higher prevalence of occasions of heavy drinking

(five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks)—40% versus 30% among their age peers. (2008 Monitoring the Future)

·         An alarming estimation by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of 1,825 alcohol-related college student deaths in the past year (Hingson, Zha, & Weitzman, 2009).

·        More life-changing physical and emotional injuries each year than seen as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  To put these numbers into perspective, over the course of the Iraq war 4,351 soldiers have died since March of 2003; during this same time frame, nearly 11,000 college students lost their lives as a result of alcohol related unintentional injuries (Associated Press, October 10, 2009; Hingson, et al., 2009).

The significance of these numbers is clearer when you consider the negative consequences to student health and safety associated with alcohol and other drug use.  Data indicate:

·         Alcohol poisoning deaths in the 18-24 year-old population tripled from 1998 to 2005, jumping from 779 to 2,290 (Hingson, et.al., 2009)

·         Of those students who had unwanted sexual intercourse, 82.3% had consumed alcohol or drugs prior to the incident. (2006 Core Institute Survey)

·         Of those involved in physical violence, 61.8% had consumed alcohol or drugs prior to the incident. (2006 Core Institute Survey)

·         599,000 were injured because of drinking, 646,000 were assaulted or hit by a drinking college student, and 97,000 experienced a sexual assault or date rape perpetrated by another drinking college student in 2001 (Hingson, et al., 2005).

·        70,000 college students aged 18 to 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.

(Hingson, et al., 2002).

Institutions of higher education strive to produce solid, productive citizens. Essential to this mission is the need to provide safe, healthy environments in which to educate students.   In order to do so, campuses must have the financial and technical supports that enable them to address their students’ alcohol and other drug use in an effective manner.

While institutions may lack the financial support to effectively address their alcohol and other drug use prevention efforts, The Network Addressing Collegiate Alcohol and Other Drug Issues (The Network) is equipped and stands at the ready to provide the necessary technical support.  The Network is a voluntary membership organization whose member institutions agree to work toward a set of standards aimed at reducing alcohol and other drug problems at colleges and universities. These standards are based on researched evidence that support best practices in prevention, providing crucial guidance for institutions and their professional staff on the most effective strategies to reduce both rates and related consequences.   To date, over 1,600 institutions nationwide have pledged support for these standards and look to The Network as a key resource in providing training, information, connection, and support to implement the Network Standards on their campuses and in surrounding communities.

To provide those vital services, the Network is organized into 18 Regional Networks throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Collaborative work in each region and state is facilitated by volunteer Regional Directors and State/Territory Coordinators who disseminate pertinent and cutting edge information, coordinate and implement trainings, work to connect professionals to appropriate resources and peers, and provide a wide range of technical assistance to institutions in each region so they may reduce the negative consequences of student alcohol and other drug use. 

Statistical data tell us that we cannot continue to overlook this population.   It is imperative that we focus our prevention efforts on the 18-25 year old population, and more specifically, the college student population, to reduce the negative consequences associated with substance abuse in that age range and to thus increase the number of students who become contributing citizens.  I ask that you provide funds

1.       To go to specific individual colleges and universities to conduct prevention activities

2.       To support The Network Addressing Collegiate Alcohol and Other Drug Issues and its work to guide and instruct those institutions.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Best Regards,

MEMBERS OF IMPORTANCE (on the appropriations subcommittee) whose support is very valuable. There are 23 States included in the list.

Senate

Senator Tom Harkin   Dem   Iowa   Chairman****

              Dan Inouye   Dem   Hawaii****

              Herb Kohl   Dem   Wisconsin

              Patty Murray   Dem   Washington

              Jack Reed   Dem   Rhode Island

              Mary Landrieu   Dem   Louisiana

              Mark Pryor   Dem   Arkansas

              Richard Durbin   Dem   Illinois

              Robert Byrd   Dem   West Virginia****

               Thad Cochran   Rep   Mississippi

               Richard Shelby   Rep   Alabama

               Judd Gregg   Rep   New Hampshire

               Kay Bailey Hutchinson   Rep   Texas

               Lamar Alexander   Rep   Tennessee

House

Congressman    David Obey   Dem   Wisconsin, Chairman****

                        Nita Lowey   Dem   New York

                        Rosa DeLauro   Dem   Connecticut

                        James Moran   Dem   Virginia

                        Lucille Roybal Allard   Dem   California****

                        Patrick Kennedy   Dem   Rhode Island****

                        Jesse Jackson   Dem   Illinois

                        Barbara Lee   Dem   California

                        Mike Honda   Dem   California

                        Betty McCollum   Dem   Minnesota

                        Timothy Ryan   Dem   Ohio

                        Todd Tiahrt   Rep   Kansas

                        Dennis Rehberg   Rep   Montana

                        Rodney Alexander   Rep   Louisiana

                        Jo Bonner   Rep   Alabama

                        Tom Cole   Rep   Oklahoma

****Really important

ADDRESSES IN LABEL FORMAT

Senate