DENS OF INEBRIETY

The New Zealand government and universities are taking drastic measures to
curb drunken campus binges.

It isn't often that a university's motto causes public-health officials to
frown. So why does 'A Degree in Distinction,' the University of Otago's
slogan, have that effect on some? Probably because Distinction happens to be
the brand name of a beer that enjoys enormous popularity on campuses here
and is a staple at binge-drinking parties.

'In the minds of many young New Zealanders,' says Karen Elliot, a health
educator employed by the government to promote the responsible use of
alcohol by students, 'that kind of unfortunate verbal association is less
humorous than it is a matter of fact.' She says that at the University of
Otago, as at most of New Zealand's seven universities and 35 colleges of
higher education, 'the traditional student mindset has been that university
is somewhere you go to party hard - a place where young people learn to get
drunk.'

Ms Elliot, along with local police departments, campus administrators,
student leaders, and the national Ministry of Health, has taken a stand to
try to deal with the problem. They are urging student drinkers in New
Zealand to 'Just Say Forget It.' There is a lot to forget. Among inhabitants
of English-speaking countries, only Australians consume as much alcohol as
New Zealanders, with young people imbibing a disproportionate share.

While young men from ages 20 to 24 represent only 6 per cent of the
population of New Zealand, they account for nearly 20 per cent of the
country's alcohol consumption. When it comes to alcohol-related problems,
young people are over-represented.

Among industrialised nations, New Zealand has long held the dubious
distinction of having the most-dangerous roads. According to government
statistics, the college-age New Zealander is responsible for 27 per cent of
all deaths from motor-vehicle accidents, with alcohol a contributing factor
in a majority of cases.

Although the exact number of students represented in such statistics has yet
to be officially quantified, 'there's no doubt that they feature prominently
in these and other areas of alcohol abuse,' says Philip Parkinson, an
official of the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand, a government agency
in Wellington, the capital.

The government has recently produced a series of provocative national
advertisements aimed at curbing the more lethal effects of campus drinking.
In one TV and cinema ad, a group of obviously intoxicated young people -
'hoons,' in the local parlance - is shown in a car being driven recklessly
down a highway in the aftermath of a heavy drinking party. As the car
hurtles toward what viewers expect will be its inevitable destruction, the
screen fades to black and these words appear: 'If you drink then drive,
you're a bloody idiot!' Lest the word bloody be misunderstood, the screen
turns blood-red.

At the University of Auckland, New Zealand's largest higher-education
institution, one student leader speaks of 'trying to reverse, the effects of
150 years of boozing.' In the case of universities, that tradition includes
binge-drinking parties that often lead to brawls or even campus riots, beer
tents 'of circus-like proportions,' and absurdly indiscriminate sexual
encounters.

Mark O'Brien, president of the Auckland Students Association, says his
organisation is trying 'to change the drinking habits of New Zealand of
old - the macho type of pioneer country - to reflect the more sophisticated,
liberal culture that it has become.' Working with the local police
department, O'Brien's group oversees the sale and distribution of alcohol at
the two pubs on the Auckland campus, insuring that patrons are not served
alcohol if they appear to be drunk or do not hold proper identification.

The last requirement can be a vexing one, however, for New Zealand's legal
drinking age of 20 is riddled with caveats. An 18 year old, for example, may
purchase an alcoholic drink if he 'intends' to eat a meal with it. But
legislation now pending in parliament would end such anomalies, and the
country's health minister, Bill English, recently warned New Zealand's
liquor industry that it ran the risk of a regulatory crackdown unless it
promised not to make young people the targets of advertisements for some
alcoholic sodas and frozen concoctions.

Most institutions are adopting regulations to prohibit the use of alcohol at
official functions. Many campuses are also tightening rules on the sale and
use of alcohol at concerts, sporting events, and social activities.

On the national level, the New Zealand University Students Association,
which oversees and coordinates the activities of regional student
organisations, has taken on the issue of alcoholic-beverage producers'
sponsorship of student-related events, a practice it would like to see
regulated. New Zealand places no legal restrictions on the advertising and
promotion of alcohol.

'The alcohol industry, sometimes not so discreetly, pushes itself into many
areas of student life,' says David Choat, vice-president of the national
student group. He works with campus affiliates of his association to develop
policies that encourage 'the enjoyment rather than the abuse' of alcohol,
and that seek to achieve 'a balance of sponsors for events and occasions.'

'Balance is the word,' agrees Ms Elliot, the health educator. 'It's the
minimisation of harm, not total abstinence, that we're promoting. We're
trying to be pro-active, so that in 10 years or so, A Degree in Distinction
will mean only what it says.'

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst