The University-Daily Kansan
Molly Kretzer’s homework has been posted on University police cars, doors of local bars and even the big screen at Memorial Stadium.
That’s where the Office of Student Success is putting the logo for its new responsible-drinking campaign called the “Jayhawk Buddy System,” which started in Kretzer’s campaigns class. In the class, which was taught by associate professor of journalism Bob Basow last spring, students do research and develop a campaign for a client.
Kretzer, a senior from Wichita, said students in her class traveled to several universities across the nation to research effective responsible-drinking messages with money donated by O’Malley Beverage, a local distributor for Anheuser-Busch.
Frank DeSalvo, associate vice provost for student success, said his office used the research to learn a couple of things about how to reach students.
“Students don’t like to be preached at, threatened or scared,” he said.
That’s why the “Jayhawk Buddy System” campaign focuses on positive actions students can take. There’s even a positive acronymn for the plan that goes with it: IACT.
“We know that students who get in trouble are often the ones who get separated from their friends at the end of the night,” DeSalvo said.
Kretzer’s campaigns class did the research together but divided into six groups that came up with different campaign proposals for their customer — the University. Kretzer was on the five-member team that proposed the buddy system.
The Office of Student Success took the proposal and made changes to it before introducing it to the University Nov. 1. For example, Kretzer said, her group’s proposal didn’t include IACT, but it did include suggestions for how to handle the campaign, like with Greek Life or during Hawk Week.
“As soon as we gave our presentation, it was in their hands,” she said. “It was their product. That’s the point of the campaigns class.”
She said the class took its research approach mostly from the model at the University of Virginia, which focused on in-depth polling to delve into the students’ behavior. They conducted their own focus groups with freshmen and sophomores, asking about their habits and opinions on certain key topics like fake IDs or binge drinking.
Kretzer said the class found that students consistently overestimated the drinking habits of their peers, thinking that others drank more regularly or dangerously than they actually did.
“If people realize they are in the majority, it might change how they act,” she said.
Kretzer said the University of Virginia’s approach used the in-depth information to create positive messages, and it found out that those positive messages worked better with students. Her group applied that lesson to its buddy system proposal, adding ten rules of partying that correlate with the research they did.
“Count sheep, not shots,” she said, as an example of a rule. “More than 40 percent of KU students have not passed out from drinking.”
Kretzer said the University of Nebraska was a good example of effectively implementing a drinking campaign, because it coordinated the police, the community and the university well.
“Their community efforts are intense,” she said.
She said Lawrence’s partnership between community and University isn’t as strong as that in Lincoln, Neb., but things like the safe bar alliance — another project that used the class’ research — are improving that partnership.
“It’s being built right now,” she said.
Chief Ralph Oliver of the KU Public Safety Office said the University police have “jumped right on top of” the campaign. The logo is on a few police cars, but not all yet.
“When people have too much alcohol, it can go medical or criminal,” he said. “We prefer to deal with less life-threatening situations.”
Oliver said his officers would be able to discuss it with anyone who asks about the logo, like when they work crowd control at a football or basketball game.
DeSalvo said the community pitched in with this campaign. In addition to the funding from O’Malley Beverage, he said that Lawrence-based advertising agency Callahan Creek donated the campaign logo and bars around town are now sporting the logo.
“It’s a multidimensional effort, and we are not alone in this,” he said.
DeSalvo said that now that his office has debuted the campaign with its IACT slogan, they want to enhance it. He said the office is developing a website for it that he hopes will be up by the beginning of spring semester. The office is also developing a toolkit, planned for release early next semester, that would give information and advice, like how to divert someone’s attention away from drinking.
DeSalvo said no matter where the campaign goes from here, it will involve students’ input and be student-centered. That makes sense for a campaign started by students.
“They’ve given us the blueprint for this program and we intend to follow it,” he said.
— Edited by Lisa Curran
