Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A national campaign aimed at raising public awareness of the dangers of high-risk and binge drinking by young people is being launched by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), 113 member institutions, and the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities.

Full-page advertisements will appear in dozens of newspapers around the country starting September 10, including the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune.

In addition to the advertisements, a web site, a "best practices" brochure highlighting campus programs to combat binge drinking and other information have been created to focus on this public health issue.

"Young people today are dying as a result of high risk and binge drinking. Others’ lives are in jeopardy. We hope that by drawing attention to the issue, the general public will join us in looking for ways to curb this horrible problem," said C. Peter Magrath, president of NASULGC.

"Our campuses are working hard, but we can’t solve the problem alone. Too many students come to us as problem drinkers. Nearly one-third of college students start as binge drinkers in high school, and binge drinking has become a destructive way of life for too many college students," Magrath said.

Binge drinking is defined as the consumption of five or more drinks in one sitting by a male, or four or more drinks by a female. According to a national survey, more than 40 percent of today’s college students binge—20 percent of them three or more times in a two-week period. More than half of the students who use alcohol say they drink to get drunk. Alcohol is a factor in 40 percent of all academic problems and 28 percent of all dropouts.

The public-awareness campaign was the idea of Graham Spanier, President of the Pennsylvania State University and chair of the Kellogg Commission, a panel of NASULGC presidents and external advisors that is issuing a series of open letters recommending ways public universities can adapt to better serve society.

Universities throughout America have signed on to support the campaign and, besides the ads in national and large daily newspapers, are purchasing full-page ads in their local and student newspapers. Ads also will be published this fall in college football programs and other publications.

The national-awareness campaign is being funded through donations by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Barnes & Noble, Inc., and through funds contributed by the participating institutions. The ads appearing in national and major city papers were developed pro bono by the Philadelphia-based ad agency Tierney and Partners, a True North Company.

"Many of us on college campuses and in the local communities where our institutions are located have been focusing on the problem of high risk, binge drinking for several years now," said Spanier. "But if we are going to succeed in addressing this public health issue, we need the interest and support of the general public."

"It is not unusual for students who come to our colleges and universities to already be experienced binge drinkers. It may be too late for some of these students if we wait until they begin college to attempt to address the problem," Spanier said. "Too many students are ending up in the emergency rooms of local hospitals; students are dropping out of college before graduating; and much of the crime involving college students—including assaults, vandalism, disorderly conduct, and sexual assault—are related to the excessive consumption of alcohol."

"If we can reduce the amount of high-risk drinking taking place we can save lives and we can make our communities safer places," Spanier said.

Penn State took the lead role in raising the funds that are helping to pay for this public-awareness campaign, and University staff are coordinating the effort with NASULGC.

"If one thing comes out of this, we hope it is that more parents talk to their children about the dangers of binge drinking—the dangers to their health, their academic careers, their futures," said NASULGC’s Magrath.

 Added Spanier, "It is important to understand that the kind of drinking going on today is very different from what parents might remember when they attended high school or college. For some young people it is drinking with the sole purpose of getting intoxicated."

There are many good web sites in existence that address issues related to binge drinking and alcohol abuse in general. To assist the public awareness campaign, a web site has been created with links to many valuable resources around the country, at www.nasulgc.org/bingedrink.  

"I believe the vast majority of students welcome the chance to be responsible," Spanier said. "They need our encouragement and support."