Raise a G.L.A.S.S – the campaign that doesn’t tell you to stop drinking but explains how to stay safe during a night out…
Written by Isobel Rafferty – Safer Roehampton Intern – here to make your university experience safer, and to raise awareness of sexual harassment, sexual assault and hate crime.
Not all students get drunk or even drink. In fact, the 18 and 19 year-olds of today have been dubbed ‘Generation Sensible’ and are more likely to abstain from alcohol than those from older generations were at the same age.
However, reports show that university students have been found to experience drink-related harm more than peers who are not in higher education1 – 79% of students agree that drinking and getting drunk is part of university culture, and 50% of students drink alcohol at least once a week2.
I understand that many university students like to drink, and while living independently, many for the first time, the last thing you may want is someone telling you what to do. So, I didn’t want to create a campaign which informed you that alcohol is bad for you, and that being teetotal is the healthiest route to take – after all, how effective would that be?
Raise a G.L.A.S.S (Get Lively And Stay Safe), was produced to explain how we can stay safe while under the influence of alcohol, not to tell students to stop drinking. In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a cheeky bevvy, or two, but if you’ve been living on the main campus for a year, and you can’t find your way home after drinking at Summer Ball… it becomes a bit of a problem.
For those students who choose to go teetotal, or not to get drunk, Raise a G.L.A.S.S is for you too!
The campaign involves four episodes filmed by freelancer, Jonas Konotautas. Each episode features interviews with Roehampton students and staff discussing drink spiking, consent, health and wellbeing, and the importance of friends (whether sober or not) while under the influence. They were released on social media every week.
To round off the campaign, I hosted a final event in The Union which involved a screening of the feature video announcing two new exciting changes:
Good Night Out Campaign
The Roehampton Students’ Union (RSU) has been officially accredited by the Good Night Out Campaign, an international initiative dedicated to eradicating sexual harassment and assault in the night-time economy. The accreditation involved a review and update of the RSU events policy; and The Union bar staff, security, and event staff underwent professional training to handle reports of sexual harassment and assault.
Angel Shots
‘Angel shots’ have been implemented in The Union bar – this is not a new drink, but an initiative introduced to keep students out of harm’s way. So, if at any time while in The Union you need discreet help or support, you can ask any member of the bar staff for an ‘angel shot’, and they will help.
Wandsworth Drug and Alcohol Consortium (WDAC), the Wellbeing Team, Bystander Intervention Team, College Wardens, Security, RSU and Growhampton also hosted information stalls with creative, engaging activities. And, a catch-up of the previous episodes could be watched on the laptop station.
Oh, and I mustn’t forget to mention the free branded Raise a G.L.A.S.S spirits measures and health sheets!
If you missed the event, don’t worry. You can catch up on all the episodes and find out when you can next grab your hands on a free glass spirits measure by following #URStandingUnited on Instagram and Facebook.
Thank you to everyone who took part, for raising your glass, and for staying safe.
Need Help?
If you have been affected by what has been discussed in the videos or the campaign, you can contact your Student Wellbeing Officer for free, confidential support:
Nicola Hallam
Digby Stuart College
nicola.hallam@roehampton.ac.uk
020 8392 3200
Sophie Cutforth
Froebel College
sophie.cutforth@roehampton.ac.uk
020 8392 3340
Jo Eskdale
Southlands College
020 8392 3402
Emily Cookson
Whitelands College
emily.cookson@roehampton.ac.uk
020 8392 3502
Alternatively, if you would like to seek external support and alcohol-related treatment services, you can contact WCDAS. To find out more information about the services available in Wandsworth, you can visit www.talktofrank.com/treatment-centre/wcdas-roehampton.
References
- AUDIT Results from a study of seven universities.
- NUS Alcohol Impact 2017/18