The Access to Alcohol Action Team is actively working with community members to increase student safety and decrease irresponsible alcohol use.
Wellness Resource Center director Kim Dude represents higher education on the Substance Abuse Advisory Commission and is the chairwoman of the Access to Alcohol Team, which meets during Substance Abuse Advisory Commission meetings.
“We meet every month, look at data, discuss the issues and come up with ways to make our campus and students safer,” Dude said.
The Access to Alcohol Action Team is a campus community coalition separate from the Substance Abuse Advisory Commission. Though the commission members have to be appointed by City Council, anyone can attend the Access to Alcohol Team update.
A variety of community members — including bar owners, campus police, city police and MU Office of Student Conduct representatives — typically attend the meetings, Dude said.
Members of the MU Police Department attend these meetings to learn what other departments and groups are doing about alcohol-related issues, as well as try to identify key issues all the groups are facing to ensure a collaborative effort, MUPD spokesman Brian Weimer said.
Both the Access to Alcohol Team update and Substance Abuse Advisory Commission are about creating a positive, safe environment in the community, Dude said.
“It’s very difficult to get students to make good choices if the environment that they live in and socialize in encourages them to not make good choices,” Dude said.
The Access to Alcohol Action Team’s recent updates have involved monitoring fan behavior at football games and educating new students about the change in Greek Life policy. Those who attended the meeting expressed concern about the number of incoming freshmen who are living off campus and how they would be accounted for.
“The community needs to take alcohol issues seriously and start making better choices when it comes to alcohol use,” Weimer said in an email. “Examples are not drinking and driving, no binge drinking, etc.”
The [proposed server training ordinance](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/9/24/local-servers-may-be-required-undergo-new-alcohol-/) is something the advisory commission is currently focusing on, Dude said. The proposed ordinance would require servers in Columbia to undergo educational training to learn how to detect fake IDs and avoid serving overly intoxicated patrons.
“The part of this I’m most interested in is the part about not serving already intoxicated people, “ Dude said. “We need help to make sure our students who drink do so in a safe way. A bar or liquor store who is already serving people who are intoxicated makes our job really difficult. We could use the partnership, frankly.”
Teamwork is the cornerstone of the Access to Alcohol Action Team, Dude said.
“We work with members of the community to have laws and policies and practices to encourage good decision-making,” Dude said. “We place a high priority on working with community members.”