Creating a Stronger Campus Culture
Research begun decades ago by Bill Sonnenstuhl, associate professor of organizational behavior, is leading to changes in how college party culture is viewed and understood.
In the nineties, Sonnenstuhl conducted research on labor-based programs to address alcohol abuse within industries noted for heavy drinking. His passion for the research and outreach it motivates is rooted in personal experiences.
“I became interested in the area of alcohol and drugs because my parents had serious alcohol problems. In graduate school, I had friends who drank too much. When I taught a social problems course, I found college students had similar concerns about their family and friends.“
Years later, as he began to collect data about drinking on the Cornell campus, he noticed parallels between the drinking norms of the workplace and campus cultures.
“At Cornell, just as I’d found in industry, most people are either abstinent or drink responsibly,” he said. “Only a small percentage abuse alcohol.”
“Once you tell students there’s a way to manage the abuse and give them appropriate feedback about norms,” he said, “those who are not dependent will change their behavior because they want to fit in with the group. And for those who are dependent, we need to talk seriously about getting them into treatment and a recovery program.”
Sonnenstuhl is faculty advisor to three student organizations that aim to change the culture around drinking at Cornell: Cayuga’s Watchers, Sober@Cornell and Cornell Sober Housing Inc.
Cayuga’s Watchers, a nonprofit organization, provides its 200-plus student employees with bystander intervention training for use in high-risk situations. Upon request, they attend parties as sober monitors, ensuring that events run smoothly and attendees stay safe.
They also provide training to other student organizations ranging from the Greek Tri-Council to business fraternities to music groups. “The number and diversity of organizations invested in Cayuga’s Watchers mission has grown exponentially,” said Dustin Liu ’19, the group’s director of external operations.
Since its inception in 2012, members of Cayuga’s Watchers have attended more than 400 events, intervening more than 2,100 times. Qualitative data collected through interviews and focus groups, Sonnenstuhl said, indicate that Watchers carry over their intervention skills into other spheres of the life. “They describe themselves ‘as always on duty.’”
“Within some of our populations and organizations that are at high-risk of substance abuse, Bill’s work has very much contributed to a more positive culture and a more normed culture around drinking,” said Ryan Lombardi, vice president for student and campus life.
Sonnenstuhl also lends his support to recovery efforts, championing Sober@Cornell, a community for students in recovery, and Cornell Sober Housing Inc., an off-campus co-op for up to nine students in recovery.
“What’s remarkable about Bill is the cumulative impact he’s had on different student groups—groups that in some ways overlap, but in other ways don’t,” said Lena Ransohoff, A&S ’17, faculty assistant at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Joining Sober@Cornell as a freshman, she said, “allowed me to find my footing, both socially and in terms of my recovery.” She became president of the organization as a sophomore and moved into the sober house a few semesters later.
“Sober@Cornell and Cornell Sober Housing would not exist without Bill,” she said. “I can speak for other people who say their sobriety was totally contingent on what came of these efforts.”
Sonnenstuhl’s “Culture, Leadership and Change” class, Liu said, “has opened students’ eyes to a more informed view of party culture. It quite literally sparks conversations at parties.” Enrollment in the class has grown from 135 in 2016, to 175 in 2017 and 195 in 2018.
“Bill understands that students will party, and many will even drink to excess,” said Drew Lord ’18, former president of Cayuga’s Watchers and the Interfraternity Council. “Instead of trying to stop these behaviors altogether, he seeks to teach students the science behind why we act this way, especially when we’re in college.
“His class explains in detail the forces behind our high-risk behaviors—the power of social norms, pluralistic ignorance, and group cultures and dynamics. Equipped with this knowledge, students can then go back to their respective campus groups and work to create a smarter social culture from within.”
For party culture to change, Sonnenstuhl said, “students must take ownership of that change, because after hours, they control the culture.” He views his role as one of facilitative leadership.
“I facilitate students’ leadership capacity so that they can come up with these ideas, take ownership of them, and then bring them to fruition and maintain them.”
Sonnenstuhl is a three-time recipient, in 2005, 2011 and 2016, of the ILR School’s Robert N. Stern Award for Teaching and Mentoring. For his work with the Greek community, he has received the A.D. White Leadership Award and the Faculty of the Year Award.
His book “The Misperception of College Drinking: Pluralistic Ignorance and Campus Life” is forthcoming.
Next, he plans to develop a template for bystander intervention training that can be used at colleges across the country.
Learn more about organizations impacted by Sonnenstuhl’s work at Cayuga’s Watchers, Sober@Cornell and Cornell Sober Housing Inc.