Sacramento State is working with the Prevention Research Center to conduct a statewide annual alcohol survey this month as part of a study investigating alcohol consumption among college students.

Robert Saltz, the associate director of the Prevention Research Center, said the survey is intended to aid CSU and UC campuses in their effort to create new and effective alcohol intervention programs.

Saltz, who is also a senior research scientist at UC Berkeley, said the program’s first target is intoxication.

“The project is to evaluate a holistic and novel approach to alcohol problem prevention, which we’re calling a risk management approach, and it includes using data to help guide prevention strategies,” Saltz said.

He said the program is not only meant to study student drinking patterns but how they may change over the course of time.

Saltz said the program surveys 1,000 students from eight UC campuses and six CSU campuses.

The program’s second target is to reduce alcohol related incidences, Saltz said.

“If we can’t keep students from getting drunk we at least want to keep them from hurting themselves or anyone else,” Saltz said.

Heather Dunn Carlton, assistant director of Student Activities and project administrator at Sac State, said the survey is part of a project called Safer California Universities, which seeks to educate students on the responsible use of alcohol.

Instead of targeting specific social groups on campus, this year’s survey will focus on social settings where the most college drinking takes place, Carlton said.

“It’s easy to target students in the residence halls, athletes, fraternities and sororities because they’re high profile, but the survey allows us to get a bigger picture of not just those who make the news but individuals, students who might be flying under the radar,” Carlton said.

According to an article published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol consumption accounts for nearly 1,400 student deaths annually and is related to approximately 500,000 student injuries.

Saltz said the Prevention Research Center would conduct the statewide survey each year with a five-year research grant awarded to them by National Institutes of Health.

“Each time we’re able to survey and do an assessment we’re able to narrow down and identify specific risks,” Carlton said.

Carlton said that although Sac State ranked as one of the healthiest campuses statewide many students think their peers are drinking far more than they really are.

According to a letter published by the Office of Public Affairs, Sac State began in April sending 21st birthday cards encouraging students to drink responsibly.

Carlton said that although the birthday cards are not part of this intervention program, it is a part of the university’s overall intervention strategy.