Principles of Peer Education

BACCHUS was founded on the belief that students can play a unique leadership role in helping their peers live safer, healthier lives. Below are a few principles that can help guide your program on campus.

Basic Premises

1.  All students have a right to live, work, and play in a safe campus environment.

2.  The majority of students make healthy choices.

3.  The campus and community environment influences students’ health and safety choices. This environment includes the beliefs and behaviors of other students, including perceptions of norms and what constitutes acceptable behavior, policies, and programs to promote health and reduce harmful behaviors.

4.  Students are an essential resource to prevention efforts:

• Students bring an essential perspective to the debate on policies and programs to promote health and safety on campus.
• Student involvement in the design and implementation of health promotion programs is critical and can help tailor those programs to the individual campus.
• Student participation in prevention efforts helps create wider campus support for new policies and programs.
• Student support of prevention efforts serves to reinforce positive campus norms.

5.  A wide diversity of students should be seen as student leaders, not just those serving in traditional leadership roles.

Obligations of Administrators

1.  Student leaders should be invited to serve as fully participating members of any campus task force or committee focused on health promotion and harm reduction.

2.  Campus officials should solicit and respectfully respond to the independent voices of a variety of student leaders.

3.  Campus officials should sponsor events where students can discuss their views on health and safety issues, generate constructive ideas to tackle the problem, and offer feedback on proposed initiatives.

4.  Campus officials should remain open to unique and innovative prevention approaches proposed by student leaders.

5.  Campus officials should provide training, guidance, and support to student leaders that will help them meet their prevention goals.

Obligations of Student Leaders

1.  Student leaders must serve as a positive example to other students.

2.  Student leaders should represent the values and concerns of the majority of responsible students.

3.  Student leaders should develop relationships with diverse members of the student body to gain a sense of where different students stand on health and safety issues, hear various students' preferences for policy and program changes on campus, and accurately report concerns and preferences of diverse student groups to campus task forces.

4.  Student leaders committed to health promotion should work to explore common ground shared by administrators, staff, and students regarding prevention goals, objectives, and activities.

5.  Student leaders should speak out when campus administrators, faculty, students, or community representatives misrepresent the responsible attitudes and behaviors of the student majority.

6.  Student leaders must speak from the facts and research-based knowledge about health and safety issues, not on the basis of personal opinion or anecdotal impressions.

7.  Student leaders should responsibly report to their peers regarding progress, outcomes, and new initiatives proposed by campus task forces.

8.  Student leaders' presence at peak "social hours" can have a positive influence on health and safety behaviors within a group.

To learn more about having a peer education group on your campus, please visit the BACCHUS Initiatives page: http://www.naspa.org/constituent-groups/groups/bacchus-initiatives