Henry T. Yang
University of California, Santa Barbara
Chancellor
Yang has served as a strong leader in support of an environmental approach
to alcohol prevention at the University of California, Santa Barbara campus.
These efforts have promoted the health and well-being of all UCSB students.
Since his appointment as UCSB chancellor in 1994, Yang has made alcohol and
other drug prevention a priority on campus, instituting policy and climate
changes in the UCSB community. In 1999, he established a campus task force
to develop and recommend policy changes on campus, as well as a campus and
community coalition to address student alcohol use in the larger community.
The task force has adopted and implemented a comprehensive, multidisciplinary,
integrated program based on the Higher Education Center’s environmental
management model. The program is comprised of “education, early intervention,
environmental change, enforcement, everyone’s involvement, and evaluation.”
The “Six E’s” (see graphic below) inform not only alcohol
and other drug prevention activities, but also programming around civility
and community building between UCSB students and members of the Isla Vista
and Santa Barbara communities.
Chancellor Yang recognizes the relationship between alcohol use and academic
achievement. In his annual convocation address to new students, he outlines
expectations for student behavior. He has encouraged faculty, students, and
staff to become involved in campus alcohol prevention efforts, and in so doing,
he has increased the sense of community on his campus. As a member of the
Presidents Leadership Group, Chancellor Yang continues to approach alcohol
prevention with innovation and dedication.
Under Chancellor Yang’s leadership the following efforts have been
initiated:
- UCSB has been collaborating with the County of Santa Barbara and the Isla
Vista Recreation and Park District to develop a master plan for Isla Vista,
as part of their commitment to provide a safe learning and living environment
for students, both on and off campus. More information on the planning process
can be found at www.islavistaplan.org.
- UCSB extended jurisdiction of campus rules and regulations for student
conduct to the off-campus, privately owned residence halls. Students living
in these halls who engage in serious violations of campus regulations—namely
violence, threats of violence, stalking, sexual harassment and hazing—are
subject to the campus judicial process, which can result in suspension or
expulsion from the university.
- Beginning in fall 2002, UCSB implemented a parental notification program
whereby parents of students who are arrested or cited in Isla Vista for
alcohol or drug offenses are notified by letter. A companion to the parental
notification policy is property owner notification, where the County Sheriff’s
Department notifies rental property owners and managers when an officer
responds to party-related complaints by Isla Vista residents. In addition,
the County Sheriff’s Department has recently begun to urge property
owners to include provisions prohibiting keg parties and open parties in
their leases.
- In partnership with the County and local Sheriff’s Departments,
UCSB helped to develop a Community Safety Ordinance that allows for better
control of off-campus parties in Isla Vista.
- Beginning in fall 2002, UCSB implemented a policy requiring all fraternities
and sororities to have alcohol-free social events on property that is owned,
rented, or otherwise used as a chapter facility.
- Since fall 2001, the Office of Student Life publishes “Weekend Spotlight”
in the campus newspaper each Thursday to highlight the activities happening
each weekend on campus. In addition, all residence halls, both on- and off-campus,
offer alcohol-free activities throughout the year in their own facilities.
Chancellor Yang has also been involved in and supportive of:
- Increasing permanent funding directed towards alcohol and other drug prevention
programs on campus.
- Social norms marketing ads in the campus newspaper placed by the Student
Health Service.
- The provision of a number of awareness-raising activities every year by
S.T.A.R. (Students Teaching Alcohol and Other Drug Responsibility) during
National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week.
- Plans to develop a statewide alcohol prevention initiative through the
University of California system.
- Implementation of strong early intervention and educational components
in UCSB’s prevention programming, such as extensive training of resident
assistants, trained peer health educators who provide small group workshops
on alcohol and other drugs in the residence halls and Greek chapter houses,
AOD assessment and counseling services offered through the Student Health
facility, and academic classes including AOD information targeted to athletes
and members of Greek chapters.
In the past few years UCSB has received several awards for alcohol and other
drug prevention efforts. In 2001, and again in 2003, the Alcohol and Other
Drug Program at UC Santa Barbara was awarded a regional grand prize of $5,000
from the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the Higher Education Center
for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. In both years, the award was presented
for UCSB’s Drinking and Driving (or Biking) Prevention Programs.
Also in 2003, the Isla Vista Alcohol & Other Drug Council (supported
by UCSB through a grant funded by the Santa Barbara County Alcohol and Drug
Program office as well as campus funds) was selected for a Prevention Award
by the statewide County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association
of California (CADPAAC). The Council was awarded for leadership in examining
how the environment rather than “just the students” plays a role
in excessive alcohol problems. The award highlights the Isla Vista AOD Council’s
success in presenting policy-based strategies for reducing alcohol problems
in the community of Isla Vista.
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