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closePublic issues forum: Join in the discussion of excessive drinking
An 18-year-old student plummets 15 feet to his death in an outdoor stairwell and isn't discovered until 24 hours later.
$50,000 worth of damages results from a downtown riot after a football game against Ohio State.
Nineteen-year-old Matthew Beck suffers severe facial injuries, a broken pelvis and a lacerated liver after somersaulting off a third-floor balcony at University Towers.
What these events had in common was that alcohol consumption was a major contributing factor.
Toxicology reports revealed that the freshman student had a blood-alcohol content level of .169 percent; many students involved in the riot were guzzling alcoholic drinks at parties prior to the riot; and Beck’s BAC was a disturbing .218 percent.
These extreme cases represent only a small part of a sea of alcohol-related crimes and injuries at Penn State. With each passing year, the number of students admitted to Mount Nittany Medical Center for problems caused by alcohol climbs dramatically. 2008 was a record year, with a reported 558 students seen to the emergency room after having had too much to drink.
The average BAC level is on the rise as well, from .234 percent in 2005 to a record .252 percent in 2008. And the number of alcohol-related arrests, including DUI, violation of underage liquor laws and disorderly conduct, is increasing each year.
Unfortunately, no single or easy solution exists for the problems associated with the irresponsible alcohol consumption.
What can those who live, visit and study in State College do to address this issue?
The writers on this page suggest three possible approaches: We can strengthen and enforce the law. We can recognize alcohol abuse as a health problem and deal with it through prevention and treatment programs. We can consider it a social problem needing better education about the dangers of alcohol. Perhaps you have some thoughts of your own.
Next week, the Public Issues Forum of Centre County invites your participation in a community dialogue. Our goal is to provide an environment in which our community’s residents have an opportunity to work through a complex issue in a way that allows participants to get to the heart of what is important to each person.
Forums encourage participants to reach a deeper understanding of an issue by examining it from different perspectives; they are structured so that the participants have to wrestle with the trade-offs and consequences inherent in each approach.
We expect that those who attend will come to a better understanding of why people with different viewpoints see the issue the way they do, and discover our common ground for moving forward.
As a community, we have the power to change the situation for the better.
Public Issues Forum of Centre County
What: A community dialogue about the problem of excessive drinking among Penn State students
When: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 12
Where: Schlow Centre Region Library, 211 S. Allen St., State College
Approach 1: Strengthen and enforce the law.
Approach 2: Allow DUI courts to be the first step toward offender' rehabilitation and treatment
Approach 3: Educate the community and expand awareness programs
In Print
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