Magnitude of the Problem
Alcohol use on college campuses in the United States has become synonymous with college culture. Modern day college students face ever-challenging pressures to cope with the reality of college culture and the social consequences that exist surrounding the issue. College offers new students a sense of independence and personal freedom, empowering them to make their own decisions as young adults. These decisions are often times destructive, resulting in numerous problems from legal issues and declined grades, to blackouts, high-risk sexual activity, and even death from overdose. The fact of the matter is that 1,700 college students every year die from alcohol-related emergencies, 19% of whom die directly from alcohol overdose. This is about 400 students every year.
In April 2002, the Task Force of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism cited “alcohol use” as the number one campus-life problem. They discuss the need for an alcohol policy that the college president, faculty, and students all support and respect. However, the majority of colleges that support “responsible use” in their alcohol policies are technically referring to those of legal age to consume alcohol. Being that the highest-risk drinkers are ages 19-24, and the most dangerous decisions are often made in the first six weeks of college, it is clear that many underage students seek to drink “behind closed doors” when they are told at orientation that they must abstain from alcohol use.
The students are the primary stakeholders in this cultural issue, but are often not included in response to the issue. Numerous organizations exist to teach responsibility to students, but very few are organizations supported by or run by the students. Others are online services that are impersonal and immediately forgotten. It is clear that for this call to action to be effective, the solution must come from the number one stakeholder – the students. Furthermore, since culture is a multi-faceted issue, the solution itself must be comprehensive in nature.
A research-supported, peer-driven, lead, and executed, comprehensive approach to the culture of excess is what makes SEMS different, effective, and the future of college cultural services.
Answering the Call
The SEMS Foundation is a “Cultural Solutions” company founded by students and run by young professionals. The organization aims to address alcohol and drug concerns on college campuses by offering a variety of research-supported services to all stakeholders: the students, administrators, and college communities.
The SEMS Foundation empowers students, administrators, and college communities to work cooperatively to forge positive cultural change. The SEMS concept is a pragmatic, realistic, and effective solution to the culture of excess. The SEMS Concept, built on its “four paradigms of cultural change” offers the comprehensive solution that leading research demands. The SEMS Foundation also offers “cultural audits,” of university systems to work with administrations to build the most effective response based on the needs of their campus. Furthermore, the SEMS Foundation is committed to the advancement of exploratory, evaluation, and clinical research through comprehensive literature review and primary research. Our ability to connect with students as peers has provided us with research channels that allow for more candid and accurate assessments that shall offer serious opportunities for cooperative research with strategic partners.
A Foundation You Can Trust
The SEMS Foundation is a 501c3, not-for-profit, public charity. We have a rigorous Code of Ethics and system of internal controls that ensure the responsible stewardship of funds and services. Qualified, accountable, and impassioned personnel run the SEMS Foundation. Donors and interested parties can rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to continue to innovate, evaluate, and improve the cultural solutions we offer to our student, administration, and community clientele.
All SEMS Foundation education materials and media are based on the latest research from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Survey (CAS), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the CORE Institute, the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRBS), the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
Navigating the SEMS Foundation Website
The SEMS Foundation website has been custom-tailored to meet the needs of our student and university clientele, esteemed donors, and the communities affected by high-risk college culture. For your convenience, the website is comprised of a network of five different websites. Please click the site links at the top-right of the page under "site network,” to find the information pertaining to your particular needs. Donor and community resources are located through either the main site or the link column on the right side of the webpage. SEMS clearinghouse resources are located through the “SEMSF Member Login” button on the upper-right side of the page.
