N.S. universities get failing grade for managing campus alcohol use, researchers say

Universities in Nova Scotia are doing a poor job of managing alcohol consumption on their campuses, according to researchers.

Kara Thompson, an associate professor of psychology at St. Francis Xavier University, led a study into campus alcohol policies and released her findings this week.

Every school in the study scored below 50 per cent in an assessment of how well their alcohol policies measure up to best practices.

"Universities are not alcohol policy experts.... But they do have a moral responsibility to take care of the population that attends their institution," Thompson said in an interview.

The Nova Scotia schools included in the study are Acadia University, Cape Breton University, Dalhousie University, the University of King's College, Mount Saint Vincent University, Saint Mary's University and St. FX.

The study also looked at schools in other Atlantic provinces: the University of New Brunswick, St. Thomas University, Mount Allison University, Memorial University and the University of Prince Edward Island. 

Average score 33%

The average score across all 12 campuses was 33 per cent, with individual scores ranging from 15 per cent to 49 per cent.

The public report does not reveal each school's score.

Thompson said she and her collaborators chose to make the results anonymous because they did not want to pit the schools against each other. They want schools to collaborate on improving their approach to alcohol use.

But each school has, or will get, a report that will detail the results from their campus. Thompson said she'll give each school a presentation about their strengths and weaknesses. 

She said she's pleased with the reception so far.

"It is hard to accept bad news, but honestly I think [the schools] are grateful for the support and advice," she said. "They want to make change."

Thompson is an expert in substance use in young adults. She said they are the heaviest drinkers when compared to every other age group.

"They report a lot of alcohol-related harms from their drinking," she said. "And their drinking not only presents harms to themselves, but presents harms to other people as well, including the campus community and the wider community that they're members of."

That's reflected in the experience of Ben Rosal, a first-year student at Dalhousie who lives in a large residence building on campus. He said it can be uncomfortable to be surrounded by heavy drinking.

"Most people in my circle are generally responsible with their drinking, but sometimes it could lead to them getting rowdy and … trashing the place," Rosal said.

Aadhidh Kumaresan, a second-year Dalhousie student, echoed that.

"It does cause a bit of nuisance to other students, especially during exam times," said Kumaresan.

Thompson pointed to parties around Halloween, St. Patrick's Day and homecoming as examples of the excessive-drinking culture that pervades campuses and the communities around them. 

Homecoming, in particular, has been a problem for Dalhousie University in recent years, with hundreds of students flooding residential streets to party, leaving a wake of property damage and disgruntled community members.

But Thompson said it's nothing new. 

"I think it has become a lot more visible than it has been in the past, but it is a problem that has been around for a long time," Thompson said.

Universities respond

CBC asked each of the Nova Scotia schools in the study how they're using Thompson's findings and recommendations.

King's and CBU both said they're actively working on updating their alcohol policies with Thompson's recommendations as a guide.

Mount Saint Vincent, Acadia and Dalhousie all said they're still assessing or waiting for their detailed results and recommendations. St. FX and Saint Mary's did not respond.

Thompson said the provincial government could play a major role in changing the culture of drinking on campuses by setting standards that all schools would have to follow. No one from the provincial government was immediately available to speak on the topic.