While alcohol is flowing in Spring Break hot-spots like Cancun and Miami, administrators from colleges across New York will converge in Syracuse to discuss how they can change dangerous drinking habits on their campuses.

Administrators from Syracuse University and more than 15 universities throughout New York will participate in the three-day conference, March 9 to March 11 at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel. Administrators will join government agencies, members of law enforcement, the community, students and the alcohol industry in discussing ways to prevent the abuse of alcohol in college communities, said Laura Madelone, director of the Office of Off-Campus Living.

“We are looking at an integrated approach to high-risk drinking with prevention, education, environmental issues and enforcement,” she said.

Administrators will listen to speakers and participate in breakout sessions to discuss policies that have worked previously for other institutions.

The conference will come just weeks after Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse released results of a survey that showed about 20 percent of the alcohol consumed in the United States is consumed by underage drinkers. This problem is something the conference hopes to combat by bringing together people from different professions and different colleges to learn and talk about the various ways that drinking is being handled and the options available for those who need help, Madelone said.

The conference was made possible by a $20,000 grant from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a trade association that represents 80 percent of distillers in the United States.

DISCUS first began promoting conferences like this one when it held a national conference attended by more than 30 universities in 2000, said Monica Gourovitch, senior vice president of scientific research at DISCUS.

“The idea is each university came in identifying the problem with alcohol consumption, and with two-and-a-half days of speakers and various workshops, they are able to leave with a specific plan to help the problem,” Gourovitch said.

After the 2000 council, DISCUS gave each school that developed a plan of action during the conference the opportunity to receive a grant to put that program in place. Since 2000, there have been three regional conferences — Syracuse will be the fourth — that work on the problem of high-risk drinking in college communities, she said.

Ann Barnett, of the Onondaga County Health Department, said community involvement is important in the conference and in addressing drinking problems in the area because people are being hurt and killed in cases involving alcohol.

“It is important to come together from all venues to work as a community,” she said. “It’s not just SU looking at underage drinking but the whole community.”

Published on March 5, 2003 at 12:00 pm