Oxford police, Ole Miss push prevention, enforcement on student drinking

Oxford police and University of Mississippi leaders are trying to split the problem of student drinking into two parts: enforce the law when conduct turns dangerous, and intervene early enough that risky behavior never becomes a crisis.

That divide matters in a town where the Oxford Police Department says it handles an average of 500 to 600 DUIs a year. Captain Orrin Todd said officers want students to have fun, but they also want them to be safe, and most police contact comes when someone draws attention through disruptive or dangerous behavior. In Oxford, much of that activity happens between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., the hours when late-night traffic, the Square and student housing can quickly turn into public-safety trouble.

The university’s answer starts before students build habits that are harder to break. Nichola McAfee, director of the William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education, said the center works with freshmen in EDHE 101 classes so alcohol and other drug education reaches students early in college. The center says its mission is to provide education, intervention, support services and harm-reduction strategies for alcohol- and drug-related issues, while also serving as a one-stop shop for education, research, support, advocacy, counseling, treatment and referrals.

The stakes are bigger than campus discipline. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says impaired driving kills thousands of people each year in the United States, and excessive alcohol use remains a leading preventable cause of death, contributing to about 178,000 deaths annually. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says college students have higher binge-drinking rates and a higher incidence of driving under the influence than their noncollege peers, and that alcohol misuse can lead to crashes, injuries, violence, sexual assaults and death.

The William Magee Center was dedicated in September 2019, after William Magee died from an accidental overdose in 2013. In Oxford, that history has helped shape a prevention strategy that pairs police patrols with education and support services rather than waiting for the aftermath of an arrest or hospital transport. For parents, students and landlords alike, the message is the same: what happens after midnight can spill quickly from one apartment or tailgate into a citywide safety issue.