COLLEGE OFFICIALS DEFEND RECORD ON CAMPUS ALCOHOL, DRUG USE

A pair of state universities with the highest alcohol- and drug-related
incidents on campus blamed those results on aggressive enforcement policies
aimed at student drinking.

Officials at Bridgewater State College, where there were 100
alcohol-related arrests among 8,926 students in 1998, and the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst, where there were 95 alcohol arrests among 24,884
students, said they have other statistics that show their new policies are
working.

"Given these higher levels and standards that are being enforced, the
numbers really jumped that first year (1998)," said Eve Gafney, a
spokeswoman at Bridgewater. "It's one thing to say you have a strict policy
and another to enforce it."

A survey of alcohol and drug arrests by the Chronicle of Higher Education
found alcohol-related arrests on 481 college campuses surged 24.3 percent
from 1997 to 1998.

Gafney said Bridgewater approved new regulations in 1997 and they took
effect in 1998. Some indicators of alcohol use on campus decreased as
students faced sanctions that included parental notification, loss of
housing and suspension.

In 1998, 892 Bridgewater students were referred to a campus judicial panel
for alcohol violations. In 1999, that number dropped to 299.

At UMass-Amherst, a stricter enforcement policy took effect in the fall of
1998. This fall, parental notification will be added to the list of
sanctions, which already includes alcohol education courses, loss of campus
housing and a one-year suspension, said Paul Vasconcellos, assistant dean
of students.

In 1997, there were 1,070 alcohol-related incidents at UMass-Amherst. After
the new policy took effect, that number climbed to 1,283 in 1998, but
decreased to 622 in 1999, according to university statistics.

"I think our focus with a strong emphasis on education and high-impact
sanctions has certainly contributed to a better environment on campus,"
said Vasconcellos.

He said 500 students were referred to an alcohol awareness program this
past school year and few who participate in the program re-offend.