Let's talk about Beer. (By the Society for the preservation of Pie Graphs)

So we did that survey last semester, we put the info up in the lobby, and now our questions and observations about the use of alcohol and other drugs finds it's final resting place on the Sno-Lo-Low-Down.

Please read, think, and comment, in that order.

Introduction
We are interested in starting a conversation about alcohol and drug use in Snow Lion, perceptions, behavior and harms. Although Naropa and Snow Lion policy, as well as state and federal laws, are clear in their stance on this behavior the purpose of this report is not to shame individuals. We do not intend to judge individuals for choices they make according to their own values. Instead we want to understand what these choices mean through the lens of community. When you make one choice and your neighbor makes another you are revealing a difference. The nature of that difference is complicated. It is a false belief that choices concerning substance use and abuse affect only the individual.

In Snow Lion we have students in various stages of recovery; we have students who have chosen substance-free lives; we have students who can use responsibly and students who can’t; we have students who worry about others in the community when they should and when they shouldn’t; we have students who feel an incredible pressure to engage in something they are not sure about in order to spend time with people they admire; we have students who keep to themselves because they just don’t want to be part of any of it; we have students who enjoy and celebrate this community or avoid and shun this community in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons. These viewpoints are one part of this equation.
The survey conducted at the community meeting at the end of October provides us some ways of understanding this issue.

Statements Posed: At this point in time Snow Lion is a Healthy Community.

General Assessment: When asked if Snow Lion was a healthy community less than half of our community members (43%) could say that it was. Nearly a third (29%), meaning nineteen of our neighbors, felt it wasn’t. The remainder of us felt neutrally about this question.

The term “healthy” certainly holds some ambiguity. Are we talking about alcohol, drugs, swine flu, academic success, good eating? Regardless, we positively value good health as a quality. Put simply, healthy is something we want our community to be.

What does the statement “At this point in time Snow Lion is a Healthy Community” mean to you? How do you feel that 26 people who live here feel the community is healthy and 19 feel that it isn’t? How have you presented yourself to the community in ways that might inform other people’s perceptions of the community?

 Perceptions: When asked whether the majority of students abstained from using alcohol and other drugs more than half of Snow Lion residents disagreed. In other words, 32 people living here felt that the majority of us are using alcohol and drugs. Only eight people felt that the majority of Snow Lion abstained from using drugs and alcohol.

Consistently, a large number of community members believe the majority of us use alcohol (43%) and other drugs (35%) on a weekly basis. Much smaller numbers (17% and 27%) believe the majority of our population avoids these behaviors.

There is a difference between perception and reality. When we see people who are social and active in positive ways in the community drink or smoke marijuana we often transfer that behavior to others around them. The people who obviously engage in behaviors catching our attention tend to outshine those who quietly go about their way and avoid situations involving drugs and alcohol. Some people experience these behaviors as very intimidating. As a result, and as research shows, what we see might not accurately represent what is going on.

Do you accept the notion that our perceptions don’t necessarily match reality? Does this seem true to you? How do these common perceptions affect our community?

Statements Posed: I consume alcohol in Snow Lion on a weekly basis. I use drugs other than alcohol or tobacco in Snow Lion on a weekly basis.
Self-Reported Use: Very directly at odds with the perceptions of use in the community is actual, self-reported use. Sure, some people might not have felt safe admitting to using substances prohibited in Snow Lion and handing that paperwork right to the Residence Hall Director. Some people might just not have been honest. More to the point however, the discrepancy between perceptions of use and self-reported use are in line with similar studies.

One quarter, or 16 people, admitted consuming alcohol in Snow Lion on a weekly basis. Just a few less people, 13, admitted to using drugs other than alcohol and tobacco in Snow Lion. Each time, half of our residents strongly disagreed that they use in Snow Lion on a weekly basis. Another 15-16% also disagreed. This means each week 40 of us abstain from using alcohol and other drugs.

What do you make of people’s reported use? What do you make of people’s reported abstinence? Do you feel this survey, or your peers, reports what is really going on accurately?

Statements Posed: Other residents’ behavioral choices have harmed my ability to be successful at school or comfortable in the building. My behavioral choices are conducive to others’ abilities to be successful at school or comfortable in the building.

Harms: When residents were asked if other residents’ choices had harmed their ability to be successful at Naropa or comfortable in Snow Lion, more than half said no, and 20 people reported that they had been negatively affected by others.

At the same time, 44 residents said their behavior did not negatively impact others. 7 people admitted their choices had likely harmed others.

Does this mean that 7 people have harmed 20, or that something else is going on? What might be happening here? What does it mean that twenty people have been harmed by others in the community? Most of us haven’t been harmed by others, and probably haven’t harmed others, what is our responsibility?