Although her birthday card from B.R.A.D. didn’t make her cancel any party plans, Katie Mellor said she learned a little bit about responsible drinking.
“I looked out for some of the symptoms of alcohol poisoning,” the 2002 graduate said.
Mellor seems to be in the majority of those who’ve received the birthday greetings since February 1999. According to a recent MSU survey, the cards are helping students celebrate their 21st birthday more responsibly.
The survey was given to more than 1,700 students between October 2001 and April 2002 within two weeks of their 21st milestone.
Of those who responded, 93 percent said they celebrated the occasion - 80 percent with alcohol. But only 43 percent said they got drunk.
Among those who got drunk, 11 percent reported getting sick and 10 percent said they could not remember part of the night.
“I don’t know if program is saving lives because there is no way to measure that. But I do know that it is making people think twice about the dangers of drinking and that’s enough,” Cindy McCue said.
B.R.A.D., or Be Responsible About Drinking Inc., was created by the McCue family in February 1999 after former MSU student Bradley McCue died from alcohol poisoning on his 21st birthday.
Bradley McCue consumed 24 shots of liquor during his birthday celebration. His blood alcohol level was 0.44, four times more than the legal limit.
Cindy McCue said MSU distributes about 5,000 B.R.A.D. cards each year to students on their 21st birthday. And 97 percent of those surveyed said the institution should keep up with the mailings.
Still, not everyone thinks the cards are useful.
Physiology junior Emily Merkle said that by the age of 21 students have already formulated drinking habits, and a card will not do much to alter them.
“People are going to act the way they act regardless,” she said.
But Jasmine Greenamyer, project coordinator for the U.S. Department of Education Grant and health educator at Olin Health Center, said the B.R.A.D. project has proved successful in its mission.
“Our No. 1 goal was to see if cards were effective in addressing how students celebrated their 21st birthday,” she said. “Particularly in preventing high risk drinking.”
Greenamyer said B.R.A.D. cards are not intended to prevent students from drinking alcohol while celebrating their birthdays.
The U.S. Department of Education is helping fund the B.R.A.D. mission through two years worth of grants that may be used to study high-risk behaviors as they relate to alcohol consumption.
The B.R.A.D. program is now distributing 21st birthday greetings to students at 60 universities across the country and one university in Australia.
Antonio Planas can be reached at planasan@msu.edu.
