COLLEGE OFFICIALS WILL BRAINSTORM WAYS TO BEAT SUBSTANCE ABUSE

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OGDEN -- Higher education officials are planning a conference next year on
how to combat drug and alcohol abuse on the campuses of Utah's nine
colleges and universities.

Philip Bernal, director of student services and minority affairs for the
Utah System of Higher Education, said about 15 leaders from each campus
will gather in St. George in March.

The two-day conference will focus on what is legally required and what
other states and other Utah campuses are doing to prevent and treat drug
and alcohol abuse.

``Some people are surprised that in Utah we have these programs, but we
need them as much as California and New York do,'' Bernal said.

Utah is dominated by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, which proscribes the use of alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs.

Nationally, the number of college-aged drinkers has remained the same over
the years, but more students are drinking to get drunk, according to a
Harvard survey.

Fifty-two percent of students said they consumed to get drunk in 1997,
compared to 39 percent in 1993.

Drug use overall is on the rise, and marijuana seems to be the drug of
choice, according to Anand Dyal-Chand, Weber State University's vice
president for student services.

The nation's situation is mirrored in Utah, though the problem is on a
smaller scale. ``Young people at this particular age, the traditional
college age, are prone to social experimentation,'' said Dyal-Chand.

Connie Kitchens, the coordinator at Utah Valley State College, said some of
the problems she finds are unique to Utah.

She helped with a smoking-cessation program at the University of Utah where
students were saying they smoked so they could distinguish themselves as
non-Mormon.

In a case involving alcohol this fall at the University of Utah, an
18-year-old said she was involuntarily drugged and raped at a drinking
party at the Kappa Sigma fraternity. She said she awakened wearing someone
else's clothes.

Prosecutors dropped the alleged rape case for lack of evidence.

At Utah State University, educators have tried to combat the program by
banning alcohol at all fraternity houses.

Bernal said the upcoming conference is an outgrowth of a program started in
September 1997, when higher education officials required campuses to give
people, office space and money to the issue.

Bernal said such requirements are unique nationally, although lack of
funding has prevented all Utah campuses from completely fulfilling the
requirements.

How to comply will be one of the issues discussed in St. George, along with
how to combat substance abuse.

``We know this is what needs to be done,'' Bernal said. ``I believe other
states will look at us [as an example].''

Luciano Colonna Utah Harm Reduction Coalition 81 O Street • Salt Lake City,
UT • 84103 phone: (801) 532-5081 • fax: (801) 532-5081
lcolonna@xmission.com

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski