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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2000)
Panel meets at UNL to discuss high-risk drinking solutions ■ Educators, retailers and law enforcement convene for strategy sharing sessions. By Melanie Mensch Staff writer Drinking was the issue, not the activity, at a symposium last Tuesday where retailers, police officers, legislators, educators and students discussed policies and practices to create a safer alcohol environment in Nebraska. Held in the Nebraska Union auditorium, the conference enti tled “Creating a Low-Risk Drinking Environment in Nebraska” had a three-fold pur pose, said Linda Majof, project director of NU Directions. “We wanted to engage and facilitate discussion about the problems here locally, the cur rent research on alcohol trends and the leading policies and practices in other cities,” she said. jl Co-chaired by Dr/dames Griesen, vice chancellor of stu dent affairs, and Tom Casady, chief of the Lincoln Police Department, die symposium was funded by a $10,000 grant awarded to NU Directions by the Woods Charitable Foundation. Major said she was pleased with the “real diversity” of the discussion from the 112 atten dants from around the nation. “Nebraska hasn’t had a sym posium on this issue for at least 10 years,” she said, “ so it was a chance for people to share and to think about what direction we what to go in the future." High-risk drinking can be a problem in Nebraska, especially in the college community of Lincoln, Major said. Eighty percent of UNL stu dents over 21 said they drank in the past month, compared to 71 percent of students underage. However, more than half of underage students were likely to drink more than their older peers. Also, obtaining alcohol is easy, according to 88.6 percent of UNL students, Major said. “The data clearly shows that young adults think it’s OK to drink before they step on cam pus,” she said. “We’re looking to bring in a combination of prac tices and policies that we believe will work hand in hand that will help reduce this kind of think ing.” . Speakers at the symposium brought a variety of solutions to the table. Participants discussed policies like limiting the amount of alcohol sold, enforcing zoning and social provision laws, creat ing liability laws, and mandating server training programs. Dr. Traci Toomey, professor at University of Minnesota and a symposium speaker, said the key was to raise awareness and pro mote responsibility with drink ing. “Sometimes we have these laws on the books, but no one is following them because they don’t know they’re there ” she said. “We want to change the norms and change the policies. We need to affect when and how alcohol is sold.” Also, they talked about organizing non-alcoholic events, distributing more food and retail shops in areas laden with bars, and restricting hours of opera tion for liquor outlets. Tom Casady said he was impressed with the idea of a “coffeehouse-bar setting,” which is popular in New Zealand, where a large selection of alco holic and non-alcoholic drinks and food are offered. How do we discourage high-risk drinking and encour age low-risk drinking?,” he asked. “We need to change the social environment. There'fc lots to do in this town, it’s not just alcohol with college students standing shoulder to shoulder in a bar. College students have a lot of disposable income, which they can spend on more than just pitchers of beer.” Casady also said other com munities served as great exam ples mixing retail shops and bars, creating an ambiance where drinking was not the focus. These ideas will be com pared and contrasted by an NU Law student who will be hired to draft models of legislation, Major said. The symposium will reconvene in October to discuss the information and search for ways to make it a reality. “Itfe been a long time, if ever if this level of expertise has gath ered together,” she said. ■ I Microsoft MCP Certification I I offered on rempns at UNLI | Kathy Hal, 4S4-7773 oka to conaidar tha possibility of craating as adoption plan for your child. Our case I workers can answer your I ' I" ■ I ———^ Dollar Days! Two BIG Days! Choose from selected shirts, skirts, pants, dresses, tops, shorts, and much more for just $1.00! • 1700 South 17th • 4555 Vine Street * 3910 North 27th • Edgewood Shopping Center • 512 Grant Ave., York • 1820 North 6th, Beatrice ■ ■ TO $1,120 Cad 474-PAYS ASSIST MEDICAL RESEARCH