Building a Leadership Plan for Addressing Student Drinking
Student drinking is a serious but longstanding problem in colleges and universities. According to SAMHSA, college students drink a larger volume of alcohol each time they drink than peers that do not attend college, and 43% of undergraduates report binge drinking of five or more drinks at a time within the previous two weeks (Carey, Scott-Sheldon, Carey, & DeMartini 2469). In addition, of the 14 million undergraduate students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities, many are under the legal drinking age of 21, and the institutions are not only required to uphold state and local laws on drinking but also to ensure that their campuses are safe and promote learning (Carey, Scott-Sheldon, Carey, & DeMartini 2469). These responsibilities demand that they institute policies and solutions that can address the issue of student drinking.
There are four frames that can be used for analyzing a scenario such as this one-the structural, human resources, political, and symbolic frames (Thompson et al. 2). The structural frame is a metaphor for a factory or machine, and it is based on rules, roles, goals, and policies with a social architecture type of leadership and a challenge to align structure to task (Thompson et al. 2). The human resources frame is a metaphor for family, and it is based on needs, skills, and relationships with an empowerment type of leadership and a challenge to align organizational needs with human needs (Thompson et al. 2). The political frame is analogous to a jungle, and it is based on power, conflict, competition, and organizational politics, with an advocacy type of leadership and a challenge to develop an agenda and a power base (Thompson et al. 2). The symbolic frame is a metaphor for a carnival, temple, or theater, and it is based on culture and meaning with an inspirational type of leadership and a challenge to create faith, be...