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TO NATIONAL EDITORS:
Survey: Most college students spend spring break constructively
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As spring break
season approaches, a national survey of 18- to 22-year-old full-time
college students revealed many students plan to work, volunteer, spend
time with family or catch up on studies over the break. Parents,
family and finances are the leading influence on college students'
spring break plans.
The majority of college students (58 percent) do not believe the media
accurately portrays how most college students spend their time and/or
behave during spring break. Furthermore, students' perception of what
other college students are doing during spring break does not match
their own self-reported plans.
"Students across America spend their spring break volunteering, doing
service projects, catching up on their studies, and spending time with
family," said Ralph Blackman, president and CEO of The Century
Council. "While we work hard to fight binge drinking and other
irresponsible drinking behaviors, these sensational headlines don't
reflect reality. The truth is the majority of college students spend
spring break taking part in productive activities and parents still
wield tremendous influence over their decisions."
The survey was commissioned by The Century Council, a national
not-for-profit funded by America's leading distillers and a leader in
the fight against drunk driving and underage drinking. The Century
Council has partnered with The BACCHUS Network, a Student Affairs
Administrators in Higher Education initiative and a collegiate peer
education program that supports the achievement of students' academic
and personal success by building skills in student leaders, to address
campus health and safety issues and to address the issue of high-risk
drinking on college campuses.
Armed with these survey results, The BACCHUS Network and The Century
Council wanted to show the "reality" of spring break to not only
media, but also to students and parents to encourage students to "Lead
the Break," which means enjoying spring break responsibly. The goal of
"Lead the Break" is to reach more than 8,000 student leaders and
advisors on 330 campuses and reward them for promoting the reality of
Spring Break by posting an Instagram picture showcasing a responsible
and productive spring break activity. Hosted on www.leadthebreak.com,
the effort will run from early March until April 15. To participate in
"Lead the Break" college students are encouraged to post the image to
Instagram with the hashtag "#LeadTheBreak". The students must also
hashtag the name of their college or university. The school with the
most mentions will increase its chance of winning.
"The BACCHUS Initiatives of NASPA is always on the lookout for new
ways to address binge drinking on and off college campuses, and we
know that students are involved in productive and responsible spring
break activities," said Ann Quin Zobeck, senior director of BACCHUS
initiatives and training. "And we wanted to highlight that through the
Lead the Break contest."
The Century Council has transformed countless lives through programs
that contributed to significant reductions in drunk driving and
underage drinking. Funded for more than 23 years by the nation's
leading distillers, we bring individuals, families and communities
together to guide a lifetime of conversations around alcohol
responsibility.
Contact: Fadi Seikaly 202-637-0077
SOURCE The Century Council
-0- 03/10/2014
/Web Site: http://www.centurycouncil.org
CO: The Century Council
ST: District of Columbia
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