Over the past two years, the Davis Administration has entered into a new partnership with both the California State University System (CSU) and the University of California (UC) to address the problems of student alcohol abuse. These partnerships are formalized by the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and the MOUs commit the resources of the Administration to work cooperatively to help identify the scope and nature of the problems on individual campuses and focus specific strategies to address the problems in the communities. As the lead agency, ABC has worked with the CSU Chancellor's Office and the UC Office of the President to pursue grant funding opportunities and develop joint programs.
With the assistance of OTS, ABC was awarded $806,000 in federal grants to work with the CSU campuses and $500,000 for the UC campuses. ABC is awarding mini-grants to the local law enforcement agencies around selected campuses and increasing enforcement activities to reduce the problems of underage drinking and youth access to alcohol.
The scale of these partnerships is believed to be the first in the nation to address statewide, multiple institutions of higher education in such a comprehensive, coordinated effort. This project, under the guidance of the Davis Administration, will involve education, prevention and enforcement strategies for both the CSU and UC systems - 33 separate campuses. ABC will work with the local police forces and campus law enforcement agencies to implement proven programs and strengthen campus alcohol policy enforcement. ABC personnel are also becoming actively involved in campus alcohol advisory councils and helping to build campus-community coalitions.
