Solutions for alcohol abuse differ throughout Big Ten schools

The penalty for violators of campus alcohol policy could become more serious by Fall 2002.\nBut IU is not alone in their efforts to curb high-risk drinking on Midwestern college campuses. Big Ten schools like the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Michigan State University are locked in the fight against high-risk drinking -- they're just using different means. \nWhile "student safety" is a common goal for universities, the methods for creating an environment that is deemed safe and acceptable by administrators while retaining student appeal differ.\nWith the endorsement of Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm, the Campus-Community Commission on Alcohol Abuse's plan for stricter campus alcohol policies is a step closer to implementation.\nAmong other things, the full implementation of the commission's plan would require the University to "step up level of disciplinary sanctions so that all alcohol offenses are treated seriously."\nIU's number of alcohol-related arrests already position the University in the upper ranks of the 11 Big Ten schools, according to crime statistics reported through the U.S. Department of Education. The University arrested 409 people on campus in 2000, the third highest among Big Ten schools.\nIU Police Department reported 409 on-campus arrests for Indiana liquor law violations, including 13 arrests made by Indiana State Excise Police, IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. Many of those arrested are also subject to sanctions from IU's Student Ethics and Anti-Harassment Program. This does not include the 810 liquor law violations that were referred by other enforcement sources to IU's Student Ethics and Anti-Harassment Programs for disciplinary actions, Minger said.\nThe University works closely with campus police to reprimand violators of Indiana and IU laws. \n"The University is not creating a double jeopardy situation," Minger said. "Students have just violated two sets of rules."\nThe University's view is that if students wish to belong to the IU community, they have to abide by the rules within our community, he said.\nMichigan State University Police Department Captain David Trexler said Michigan has one of the most stringent minor possession and consumption laws in the United States, helping to limit underage drinking to a degree.\nWhen the state of Michigan adopted a "zero tolerance" policy for minors, the university followed suit, Trexler said.\nThe state mandated laws require any individual that is under 21 who has been consuming alcohol or is in possession of alcohol be issued a citation.\nEven with this "zero tolerance" policy, MSUPD reported 852 arrests for on-campus liquor law violations in 2000, and 355 of these arrests were referred to the university for disciplinary actions. \nTrexler attributed the high level of campus arrests at MSU to an increased number of people visiting the campus during football season.\n"People love coming here for big games, especially if State is playing Notre Dame or Michigan," Trexler said. "The more people there are, the more cops there are making more arrests."\nMSU has taken a proactive role in the prevention of high-risk drinking situations on campus, Trexler said. \n"We do have a wet campus here. Students can drink on campus as long as they are 21," he said. "We do not allow any kegs or party balls in the dorms, though."\nMSUPD has taken a proactive role in educating students to the consequences of binge drinking, Trexler said. He feels that it is not feasible to try to stop kids from partying.\n"The heavier-type binge drinking has decreased from years ago," Trexler said. "But there's always going to be drinking."\nUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department Captain Dale Burke agreed, saying the university, community and students must work together to cooperatively find alternatives to high-risk drinking.\n"Solutions need to be a cooperation between the university and students with significant cooperation from the students," Burke said. "Some rules we have in place now only make criminals out of those would would not otherwise be criminals."\nBurke's police force was kept busy in 2000 by 671 arrests, both on and off-campus, he said. \n"Many arrests occur adjacent to campus," Burke said. "40-to-50 percent of these arrests are from non-Madison students."\nBurke and Trexler said they both found that students visiting friends at out of state colleges are unaware of state and university laws.\nTypical first-offense 17-20 year old minors in possession or consumption of alcohol land a $212 fine in Wisconsin, Burke said. First-offense minors attempting to buy alcohol are fined $396.50. \n"The tavern owners felt that if we could keep minors from buying alcohol, they could keep them out of their establishments," said Burke, adding it didn't work. \nBut monetary consequences do not work, Burke said. Additional rules and regulations won't help either. \n"Nothing will change overnight," he said. "We have to be satisfied with baby steps and small improvements. We need to be committed to long lasting solutions to the problem of binge drinking, not quick fixes"