Late Night Penn State is acknowledged as a winner among alcohol-free programs on college campuses nationwide, and this week received recognition from the U.S. Department of Education in the form of a one-year, $75,748 grant, which recognizes innovative programs that combat binge drinking among college students. The grant will fund a research study of its impact on students.
Dolores Maney, assistant professor of kinesiology and principal investigator on the study, said the six-person interdisciplinary research team will focus on alcohol-specific measures. The team plans to evaluate the relationship among college students' participation in alcohol-free alternative activities and alcohol consumption, perception of social drinking norms, social identity and perceptions of University policies. It will also look at satisfaction with the program and programming needs and interests.
Penn State Late Night in the HUB offers students free movies, dances, concerts, comedy, board games, video games, magic and arts and crafts from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights for 16 weeks each semester. More than 24,000 students attended last year. It was developed specifically as an alternative to alcohol-related activities on weekends and complements other alcohol-free activities on campus such as sports, residence hall activities and music and theatrical productions. It also has been adopted by other universities, including Michigan State University.
Preliminary evaluations last spring conducted as part of the University's Pulse Survey program showed that student demand for the program was high and that it resulted in perceptions of less drinking among 71 percent of the students participating in Late Night Penn State. These results are posted on the Web at http://www.sa.psu.edu/sara .
Maney and her team also hope to receive an additional U.S. Department of Education grant to defray the costs of sharing their research results with students, faculty and staff at Penn State as well as with colleges and universities across the country.
Other members of the research team are: Linda Caldwell, co-investigator and associate professor of recreation and park management; Susan Kennedy, associate director for educational services for University Health Services; Linda LaSalle, assistant director and community health educator for University Health Services; Betty Moore, senior research analyst for the Student Affairs Office of Research and Assessment; and Sharon Mortensen, associate director of unions and student activities in the Division of Student Affairs.