Last year, the Student Wellness and Health Promotion team at the University of Delaware launched a new campaign to promote protective behaviors while drinking alcohol. And Rascal is here to stay.

The campaign’s mascot is a squirrel named Rascal who demonstrates responsible alcohol consumption and shares statistics regarding UD students' behaviors and attitudes around drinking. 

"Students are always talking to us about the squirrels on The Green, and honestly the images of the squirrels just made me laugh," said Director of Strategic Wellbeing & Training Helen Ann Lawless. "We want students to understand that the majority of their peers are socializing responsibly and that they can still have fun while being safe, too. I think students will love Rascal as a mascot for these messages."

Set to a seasonal background, Rascal the squirrel is featured participating in harm reduction strategies such as choosing a set number of drinks and staying with the same group of friends while partying. His name is an acronym: 
 

RASCAL

Raid the cabinet for snacks before and while celebrating

Alternate water and alcohol

Stop before having too much to drink

CALL 911 for help if needed
 

The campaign is informed by social norms research in health communication, which has proven to be successful on other college campuses. Now in his second year, Rascal is still making an impact.

"It’s exciting to know Rascal the Squirrel resonates with UD students," said Director of Student Wellness and Health Promotion Joy Allison. "This campaign highlights that not all of their peers consume alcohol when participating in social events. For those that did drink, the majority reported it wasn’t in a high risk way, contrary to what students might think."

The most recent survey in Spring 2022, indicated several statistics, including:

• 94.2% of UD students ate before or while they were drinking at a Halloween event.
• 93.3% of UD students made arrangements to get home safely from a Halloween event.
• 90.1% of UD students stayed with the same group of friends while partying on Halloween.
• 73% of UD students stopped before having too much to drink while celebrating Halloween. 

Chairperson of the Department of Communication Kami Silk is leading the research team behind the campaign and saw success with a similar program at Michigan State.

"Many students are influenced by what they think is 'normal' in their community,” said Silk. “So when a campaign can point to survey data that says that most UD students stopped before having too much to drink last Halloween, it helps students realize that most of their peers are not drinking as much as they initially thought. Over time, we will measure and hopefully see the impact of social norms messages on safe drinking and related behaviors."

Allison hopes that Rascal will serve as a helpful partying reminder, not just on Halloween but year-round.

"Resetting norms around alcohol is considered a best practice for addressing problematic drinking behavior on college campuses," said Allison. "I hope UD students will implement the steps in Rascal when needed. This will aid in the goal of cultivating an environment that prioritizes and maximizes wellbeing and reduces harm."

Look out for signs of Rascal around campus for tips and social norm stats!