On college campuses the sayings “Hey dudes, let’s party!” or “Party it up!” are fairly commonplace. How about the saying “Party smart!” though? It’s still got the word “party” in it. “Partying smart” simply means that a person should be responsible for his drinking behavior.

The actual phrase “Party Smart” comes from the Beer Drinkers of America Education Project. This organization, which is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, started up in 1987, and the Party Smart project got underway around the same time.

Although Party Smart’s target audience is adults from ages 21 to 35, the Beer Drinkers of America organization realizes that there is under-age drinking that occurs on every college campus.

Rather than telling students not to drink, this group seeks to educate them on safe drinking behaviors. “We take a stance of responsibility and we don’t get preachy,” said Dr. Nancy Olenick, National Education Director. Besides responsible drinking, Party Smart stresses sensitivity to problem drinking, ways for people to understand their drinking limits, and enforcement of drunk driving laws.

Dr. Olenick stated that Beer Drinkers of America supply “Party Smart” materials to over 400 college campuses and feels that their information is supplemental to what the campuses already have organized.

One example of the material this education project sends out to colleges and many other clubs and associations is the Ten Tips for Smarter Partying and Hipper Hosting.

When it comes to partying, not only is the partier responsible for his actions, but the host can also provide a safer party environment. For example, the host should serve plenty of food along with alcohol since it slows actual alcohol absorption, and also serve non-alcoholic drinks as well.

Colleges groups and organizations aren’t the only ones to use Party Smart literature, and Dr. Olenick stated that anyone who needs alcohol awareness literature can get in touch with the Beer Drinkers of America project.

Regarding results of the Party Smart campaign, Dr. Olenick is very positive. “It (the feedback) has been great,” she said. She definitely feels that the organization has made a difference when it comes to educating young adults who have made the decision to drink.

“Awareness is only a first step—but it gets peoples’ attention,” Dr. Olenick stated. She wants people to be aware of responsible drinking all the time, not only during times like Alcohol Awareness Week.

An organization that follows the Party Smart philosophy right here at NIU is BACCHUS (Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students). However, BACCHUS has the added advantage of being a peer group—in fact, this is a bonus that BACCHUS president Bill Scheidhaur considers to be very important.

Scheidhaur feels that students will listen to alcohol education when it comes from others in their class. He also feels that students will listen to BACCHUS in particular because, as he says, it’s not a radical group. “We’re trying to stress drinking in moderation.” He also adds that groups like “Just Say No”, which advocate total abstinance from harmful substances, won’t make an impression on college students.

BACCHUS members put up posters in the resident halls and classrooms, give handouts on drinking, and have staged a mock DUI arrest during Alcohol Awareness Week. They haven’t actually done presentations because their membership at this time is so small.

As for results, Scheidhaur says feedback has been slow so far this year but he adds that if BACCHUS can stop even one person from getting sick at a party then it’s progress.

So, when partying, party smart. The members of Beer Drinkers of America and BACCHUS will appreciate it if you serve as a responsible role model to your peers when it comes to drinking.