About Georgetown University Georgetown University (GU) is a four-year private university with an enrollment of over 6,850 undergraduates. The student body represents every state and more than 130 foreign countries. Based in Washington, D.C., Georgetown University is a Jesuit institution founded in 1789 by John Carroll, S.J. The Jesuit principle of cura personalis, which means "care of the person", encourages the well-being of all men and women on campus and sets the foundation for health promotion programs at Georgetown. Although there is no Greek system recognized by the university, there are a few off-campus fraternities and sororities, along with active campus organizations, over 100 community service initiatives, and top national athletics.
Georgetown University Social Norms Overview The social norms program, funded primarily by a grant from Anheuser-Busch Companies and its charitable foundation, promotes the positive choices that Georgetown students make regarding alcohol use. The campaign is led by the Social Norms Coordinator and SMURF (Students Marketing Under-Recognized Facts). SMURF is a team of six high-achieving student leaders who help design, coordinate, and implement the campaign. Their input and energy play a significant role in helping to create materials that appeal to and resonate with the target population.
Program Goals and Objectives
2009 Campaign You Don't Know Jack In the fall of 2009, GU will launch its You Don’t Know Jack campaign, which will feature the university's beloved mascot, Jack. The posters feature a relatively unknown, fun fact about Jack, which will be followed by our statistic (also relatively unknown).
For maximum impact, two sets of posters were created. The first set contains four general posters, which use the following statistics:
To keep things fresh and current, the second set is themed and tied to what’s currently happening. It is also designed to target events/days where risk-based drinking may occur, such as Spring Break and St. Patrick’s Day. Each poster is designed to match a theme, but they all contain the following statistics:
88% of Hoyas do one or more of the following when partying...
Through focus groups, surveys, and intercept interviews, the campaign received positive reviews on its believability, appeal, and effectiveness. Students LOVE the use of Jack and the poster designs.
Clicker Presentations
GU will also give several You Don’t Know Jack presentations to increase the believability of the statistics and to increase awareness of the campaign. The presentations will use an audience response system (clickers), which integrates into Microsoft PowerPoint and allows audiences to participate in presentations by submitting responses to interactive questions using a remote control-like keypad (the actual clicker).
The response system makes PowerPoint presentations more powerful, interactive, and engaging. As questions are posed, audience members key in their response and receive instant, real-time analysis of the audience’s responses.
This system is perfect for the Social Norms program! Our campaign is based on gathering positive data about our students and disseminating these facts through posters, newsletters, etc. One of our greatest challenges is the believability of our data. Being able to give a presentation and have students participate in a survey and see for themselves the true campus norms is priceless. The data often surprises students and sparks a dynamic discussion about one’s own perception of student norms. It also forces students to analyze/rethink their own health-related choices.
The presentation begins with questions about Jack. Responses often reveal common misperceptions people have about bulldogs. That serves as a great transition into questions about fellow Hoyas and misperceptions that students often have about their schoolmates. Target audience members for these presentations include first-year students, student athletes, resident assistant (RAs), and other student groups.
Stall Seat Journal With permission from the University of Virginia, the name "Stall Seat Journal" (SSJ) was used for GU’s publication. In 2007, a completely redesigned, more edgy SSJ was launched. It is produced every two weeks and distributed in the six residential halls that have communal bathrooms. For halls with private bathrooms, SSJs are placed in laundry rooms. The SSJ contains a variety of articles on topics including sexual health, smart party tips, stress management, healthy relationships, etc. Every SSJ also contains at least one social norming statistic.
Indicators of Success
Item
2004 to 2008
Students drinking 5 or more drinks 3 or more times in the last 2 weeks
Down 21%
Forgetting where they were are a result of drinking
Down 11%
Keeping track of drinks consumed
Up 9%
Mean number of drinks consumed
Down 12%
Men involved in a fight
Down 33%
GU uses the National College Health Assessment Survey to develope norming messages and as one tool to assess the effectiveness of the campaign.
Contact Information
Tessa Telly, M.S., CHES Social Norms Coordinator Georgetown University 202-687-8373 (office) [email protected]
