“The Responsibility to Inform,the Power to Act”: A Conference for New England College Newspaper Editors on the Role of the Campus Press in Addressing Substance Use Issues

Abstract

College newspapers are a powerful but underutilized medium for educating students on health issues, including those related to drug and alcohol use on campus. Editors of these publications are in a position to wield significant influence among their readers. In addition to communicating factual information about the prevalence and impact of substance use among college students, editors can use the press to advocate changes in students' attitudes and behaviors and in college or community policies that affect substance use. A pilot conference was held to help New England college newspaper editors perceive the importance of their role in educating their peers about substance use and other health-related issues, and to offer concrete suggestions as to how they can incorporate these topics into an “activist” campus press.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

DeJong

, On the Use of Mass Communications to Promote the Public Health, Surgeon General's Workshop on Organ Donation: Background Papers, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland, 1991.

Wechsler

and Isaac

, Alcohol and the College Freshman: “Binge” Drinking and Associated Problems, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Washington, D.C., 1991.

National Committee for Injury Prevention and Control, Injury Prevention: Meeting the Challenge, Oxford University Press, New York, 1989.

Wishnow

, The Activist: A Broadcasters' Step-By-Step Guide to Total Station Public Affairs Projects, National Broadcast Association for Community Affairs, Washington D.C., 1983.